Tag Archives: vegetable waste

NanoCelluComp (nanocellulose composites, a European Union project) waves goodbye

As I noted in my Feb. 6, 2014 posting about NanoCelluComp and its appearance at the JEC 2014 Composites Show and Conferences in Paris (France), 11-13th March, 2014, the project is experiencing its sunset days.

The project’s (European Commission-funded project under the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme) final (6th) newsletter (which can be found here) has just been published and there are a few interesting items to be found.

They list each of their ‘work packages’ and then describe the progress,

Work Package 1
Extraction of nanocellulose from carrot.
Work Packages 2 & 3
Stabilization and modification of nanocellulose suspensions.
Work Package 4
Nanocellulose based materials.
Work Package 5
Integrated technology for making new materials.
Work Package 6
Assessment of new technology.

NanoCelluComp Work Programme Activities.
Work packages 1, 2 and 3 are complete; nonetheless, these methods have been further improved as we have learned more about the properties of the extracted nanocellulose and better ways of removing unwanted components of the vegetable waste.

Activities in work package 4 have provided larger-scale production (100’s of g) of fibres that have been incorporated into resins (work package 5). Production and processing aspects were further fine-tuned over the autumn and early winter to achieve the best performance characteristics in the final composites. Different methods have been used to produce composite materials and full mechanical testing of each has been performed. Finally, demonstrator products have been produced for the JEC Europe 2014 show in Paris (March 11-13).

In work package 6, full life-cycle assessment has been performed on the different production technologies and final demonstrator products.

I’m particularly intrigued by Work Package 1 and its reference to carrots, the first time I’ve heard of carrot-derived nanocellulose. I hope to hear more about these carrots some day. In the meantime, there is more information about vegetable waste and nanocellulose at the JEC conference where NanoCelluComp can be found at Exhibition Stand D83 or in my Feb. 6, 2014 posting.

The 6th newsletter also offers a list of recent papers and publications, their own and others related to nanocellulose. Included here is the list of publications from other agencies,

From cellulose to textile fibre and a ready product

Aalto University has developed a new process with global significance for working cellulose into a textile fibre.

The world’s first textile product made from Ioncell cellulose fibre as well as other results yielded by research programs were introduced at a seminar held by the Finnish Bioeconomy Cluster FIBIC Oy on November 20, 2013.

www.nanocellucomp.eu/from-cellulose-to-textile-fibre-and-a-ready-product

This Self-Cleaning Plate May Mean You’ll Never Have To Do The Dishes

Researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm) in collaboration with Innventia, have designed a prototype dinner plate made from nanocellulose and coated with a super-hydrophobic material.

www.nanocellucomp.eu/latest-news/this-sel-cleaning-plate-may-mean-youll-never-have-to-do-the-dishes

New report – Biocomposites 350,000t production of wood and natural fibre composites in the European Union in 2012

This market report gives the first comprehensive and detailed picture of the use and amount of wood and natural fibre reinforced composites in the European bio-based economy.

www.nanocellucomp.eu/latest-news/new-report-biocomposites-350000t-production-of-wood-and-natural-fibre-composites-in-the-european-union-in-2012

It looks like some good work has been done and I applaud the group for reaching out to communicate. I wish the Canadian proponents would adopt the practice.

All the best to the NanoCelluComp team and may the efforts be ‘fruitful’.

NanoCelluComp (nanocellulose composites) goes to JEC Composites Show and Conference in Paris (France)

NanoCelluComp (nanocellulose composites), a European Commission-funded project under the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme, which is entering its final stage (2011 – 2014) will make an appearance (Exhibition Stand D83) at the JEC 2014 Composites Show and Conferences in Paris (France), 11-13th March, 2014.

I  profileded NanoCelluComp in a March 7, 2013 posting where I included excerpts from the project’s 4th newsletter. The 5th (August 2013) newsletter is available here. There is also a project flyer (PDF), which provides some additional insight into why the project was developed and what NanoCellulComp was attempting to accomplish,

Food processing of vegetables produces billions of tonnes of fibrous waste. The cellulose fibres contained within this waste have superior structural properties that with ‘green’ chemistry can be put to much better use. Composites containing cellulose extracted from carrot waste have already been incorporated in lightweight products such as fishing rods and steering wheels.

This material – Curran – while exhibiting good structural properties, does not have the strength of glass or carbon fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP and CFRP) and is further disadvantaged due to limited processability.

The NanoCelluComp Process Improving on Curran through:

Liberating microfibrillated cellulose (nanocellulose) from vegetable waste streams utilising an aqueous based process (thus decreasing energy consumption, and avoiding volatile chemicals).
 Improving mechanical properties by the controlled alignment and cross linking of nanocellulose fibrils.
 Combining the resultant fibres with bio-based resins to produce a 100% bio-composite (thus decreasing use of petroleum-based products).
 Ensuring compatibility of the bio-composite with current manufacturing processes (e.g. injection moulding, hand lay-up).
 Investigating the sustainability of the above processes and materials, compared to existing materials, through a full life-cycle assessment (LCA) and identifying promising application fields.

Most of the ‘nanocellulose’ material that I’ve covered has been focused on derivations from forest products however there is one other team (that I know of) led by researcher Alcides Leão of Brazil examining the possible uses of nanocellulose derived from pineapples and bananas. On that note, my June 13, 2011 posting titled: Transcript of nanocellulose fibre podcast interview with Alcides Leão, Ph.D., from São Paulo State University and/or my March 28, 2011 posting titled: Nanocellulose fibres, pineapples, bananas, and cars may be of interest.