Tag Archives: nanocellulose

‘Green’, flexible electronics with nanocellulose materials

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Bendable or flexible electronics based on nanocellulose paper present a ‘green’ alternative to other solutions according to a May 20, 2015 American Chemical Society (ACS) news release (also on EurekAlert),

Technology experts have long predicted the coming age of flexible electronics, and researchers have been working on multiple fronts to reach that goal. But many of the advances rely on petroleum-based plastics and toxic materials. Yu-Zhong Wang, Fei Song and colleagues wanted to seek a “greener” way forward.

The researchers developed a thin, clear nanocellulose paper made out of wood flour and infused it with biocompatible quantum dots — tiny, semiconducting crystals — made out of zinc and selenium. The paper glowed at room temperature and could be rolled and unrolled without cracking.

(h’t Nanotechnology Now, May 20, 2015)

There’s no mention in the news release or abstract as to what material (wood, carrot, banana, etc.) was used to derive the nanocellulose. Regardless, here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Let It Shine: A Transparent and Photoluminescent Foldable Nanocellulose/Quantum Dot Paper by Juan Xue, Fei Song, Xue-wu Yin, Xiu-li Wang, and Yu-zhong Wang. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2015, 7 (19), pp 10076–10079 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b02011 Publication Date (Web): May 4, 2015

Copyright © 2015 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.

Treating municipal wastewater and dirty industry byproducts with nanocellulose-based filters

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Researchers at Sweden’s Luleå University of Technology have created nanocellulose-based filters in collaboration with researchers at the Imperial College of London (ICL) good enough for use as filters according to a Dec. 23, 2014 news item on Nanowerk,

Prototypes of nano-cellulose based filters with high purification capacity towards environmentally hazardous contaminants from industrial effluents e.g. process industries, have been developed by researchers at Luleå University of Technology. The research, conducted in collaboration with Imperial College in the UK has reached a breakthrough with the prototypes and they will now be tested on a few industries in Europe.

“The bio-based filter of nano-cellulose is to be used for the first time in real-life situations and tested within a process industry and in municipal wastewater treatment in Spain. Other industries have also shown interest in this technology and representatives of the mining industry have contacted me and I have even received requests from a large retail chain in the UK,” says Aji Mathew Associate Professor, Division of Materials Science at Luleå University.

A Dec. 22, 2014 Luleå University of Technology press release, which originated the news item, further describes the research,

Researchers have combined a cheap residue from the cellulose industry, with functional nano-cellulose to prepare adsorbent sheets with high filtration capacity. The sheets have since been constructed to different prototypes, called cartridges, to be tested. They have high capacity and can filter out heavy metal ions from industrial waters, dyes residues from the printing industry and nitrates from municipal water. Next year, larger sheets with a layer of nano-cellulose can be produced and formed into cartridges, with higher capacity.

– Each such membrane can be tailored to have different removal capability depending on the kind of pollutant, viz., copper, iron, silver, dyes, nitrates and the like, she says.

Behind the research, which is funded mainly by the EU, is a consortium of research institutes, universities, small businesses and process industries. It is coordinated by Luleå University led by Aji Mathew. She thinks that the next step is to seek more money from the EU to scale up this technology to industrial level.

– Alfa Laval is very interested in this and in the beginning of 2015, I go in with a second application to the EU framework program Horizon 2020 with goals for full-scale demonstrations of this technology, she says.

Two of Aji Mathews graduate student Peng Liu and Zoheb Karim is also deeply involved in research on nano-filters.

– I focus on how these membranes can filter out heavy metals by measuring different materials such as nanocrystals and nano-fibers to determine their capacity to absorb and my colleague focuses on how to produce membranes, says Peng Liu PhD student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Luleå University of Technology.

I have been following the nanocellulose work at Luleå University of Technology for a few years now. The first piece was a Feb. 15, 2012 post titled, The Swedes, sludge, and nanocellulose fibres, and the next was a Sept. 19, 2013 post titled, Nanocellulose and forest residues at Luleå University of Technology (Sweden). It’s nice to mark the progress over time although I am curious as to the source for the nanocellulose, trees, carrots, bananas?

Producing cellulose nanoparticles from waste cotton

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This nanocellulose item comes courtesy of Iran, from a July 29, 2014 news item on Nanowerk (Note: A link has been removed),

Researchers from Amir Kabir University of Technology succeeded in the synthesis of cellulose nanoparticles by using two environmentally-friendly processes (“Spherical cellulose nanoparticles preparation from waste cotton using a green method”).

The use of waste cotton fibers for the production of cellulose nanoparticles is among the interesting points in this research.

In addition to biodegradability and the ability to be recovered and re-used, cellulose nanoparticles are light and cheap, and they have very desirable mechanical properties. Therefore, they have high potential to be used in pharmaceutics, foodstuff, cosmetics, paper production and composite manufacturing.

A July 29, 2014 Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council (INIC) news release, which originated the news item, provides more detail about the research,

Dr. Tayyebeh Fattahi Mei-abadi, one of the researchers, explained about the advantages of this method over the usual methods, and said, “In this project, spherical cellulose nanoparticles were produced from waste cotton fibers through enzyme hydrolysis and ultrasound methods. Acidic hydrolysis is usually used in the majority of the researches on the production of cellulose nanoparticles. This method is not in agreement with environmental issues, and it leaves byproducts. But in this research, enzyme hydrolysis method was used, which enables the production of nanoparticles under mild condition without any environmental damage, and it does not require specific equipment. In addition, ultrasonic process was carried out with low energy in a short period, which makes cost-effective the production of cellulose nanoparticles through this method.”

In the production of the nanoparticles, various parts of cellulose enzyme were attached to cellulose chains, and they started to hydrolyze crystalline and amorphous areas. As hydrolysis goes on, particles with average size of 520 nm are formed. Then, ultrasound energy converts the hydrolyzed fibers into nanoparticles at about 70 nm in size.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Spherical cellulose nanoparticles preparation from waste cotton using a green method by Tayebeh Fattahi Meyabadi, Fatemeh Dadashian, Gity Mir Mohamad Sadeghi, and Hamid Ebrahimi Zanjani Asl.Powder Technology Volume 261, July 2014, Pages 232–240 DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2014.04.039

This paper is behind a paywall.

 

Final words on TAPPI’s June 2014 Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials conference

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A July 8, 2014 news item on Nanowerk provides some statistics about the recently ended (June 23 – 26, 2014) TAPPI (Technical Association for the Pulp, Paper, Packaging and Converting Industries) Conference on Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials,

Over 230 delegates from 25 countries gathered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada last week at TAPPI’s 9th International Conference on Nanotechnology for Renewable Nanomaterials. “This year’s conference was exceptional,” noted co-chair Wadood Hamad, Priniciple Scientist, FPInnovations. “The keynote and technical presentations were of very high quality. The advancements made in many applications show great promise, and we will see expanded commercial use of these renewable biomaterials.”

An identical news item dated July 7, 2014 on Nanotechnology Now,notes the commercial announcements made during the conference,

…

Several key commercial announcements were made at this year’s conference, highlighting the tangible growth in this emerging market area of renewable biopolymers:

Celluforce, which opened their commercial plant in January 2012, shared six advanced commercial projects.

Imerys announced the launch of their new FiberLean™ MFC innovative composite, which enables a 10-15% reduction in fiber usage for papermaking applications.

Representatives from the newly formed BioFilaments shared information on their unique high performance biomaterial derived from wood cellulose to be used as reinforcing agents and rheological modifiers.

Blue Goose Biorefineries presented their patent-pending process for producing cellulose nanocrystals from wood pulp.

Nippon Paper Industries introduced Cellenpia, their cellulose nanofibers produced from their pre-commercial plant.

GL&V presented their commercial system, developed with the University of Maine, to produce cellulose nanofibrils at a very low energy cost.

American Process Inc. presented their latest results of producing lignin-coated nanocellulose particles using their AVAP® technology which produces a material that is more easily dispersed and has enhanced properties.

I wish them good luck with their projects.

Nanocellulose and an intensity of structural colour

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I love the topic of structural colour (or color, depending on your spelling preferences) and have covered it many times and in many ways. One of the best pieces I’ve encountered about structural colour (an article by Christina Luiggi for The Scientist provided an overview of structural colour as it’s found in plants and animals) was featured in my Feb. 7, 2013 posting. If you go to my posting, you’ll find a link to Luiggi’s article which I recommend reading in its entirety if you have the time.

As for this latest nanocellulose story, a June 13, 2014 news item on Nanowerk describes University of Cambridge (UK) research into films and structural colour,

Brightly-coloured, iridescent films, made from the same wood pulp that is used to make paper, could potentially substitute traditional toxic pigments in the textile and security industries. The films use the same principle as can be seen in some of the most vivid colours in nature, resulting in colours which do not fade, even after a century.

Some of the brightest and most colourful materials in nature – such as peacock feathers, butterfly wings and opals – get their colour not from pigments, but from their internal structure alone.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have recreated a similar structure in the lab, resulting in brightly-coloured films which could be used for textile or security applications.

A June 13, 2014 University of Cambridge news release, which originated the news item, describe the phenomenon of structural colour as it applies to cellulose materials,

In plants such as Pollia condensata, striking iridescent and metallic colours are the result of cellulose fibres arranged in spiral stacks, which reflect light at specific wavelengths. [emphasis mine]

Cellulose is made up of long chains of sugar molecules, and is the most abundant biomass material in nature. It can be found in the cells of every plant and is the main compound that gives cell walls their strength.

The news release goes on to provide a brief description of the research,

The researchers used wood pulp, the same material that is used for producing paper, as their starting material. Through manipulating the structure of the cellulose contained in the wood pulp, the researchers were able to fabricate iridescent colour films without using pigments.

To make the films, the researchers extracted cellulose nanocrystals from the wood pulp. When suspended in water, the rod-like nanocrystals spontaneously assemble into nanostructured layers that selectively reflect light of a specific colour. The colour reflected depends on the dimensions of the layers. By varying humidity conditions during the film fabrication, the researchers were able to change the reflected colour and capture the different phases of the colour formation.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) are also known as nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC).

Here’s a link to and a citation for  the paper,

Controlled, Bio-inspired Self-Assembly of Cellulose-Based Chiral Reflectors by Ahu Gumrah Dumanli, Gen Kamita, Jasper Landman, Hanne van der Kooij, Beverley J. Glover, Jeremy J. Baumberg, Ullrich Steiner, and Silvia Vignolini. Optical Materials Article first published online: 30 MAY 2014 DOI: 10.1002/adom.201400112

© 2014 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

While the researchers have supplied an image of the Pollia condensata, I prefer this one, which is also featured in my Feb. 7, 2013 posting,

AGELESS BRILLIANCE: Although the pigment-derived leaf color of this decades-old specimen of the African perennial Pollia condensata has faded, the fruit still maintains its intense metallic-blue iridescence.COURTESY OF P.J. RUDALL [downloaded from http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34200/title/Color-from-Structure/]

AGELESS BRILLIANCE: Although the pigment-derived leaf color of this decades-old specimen of the African perennial Pollia condensata has faded, the fruit still maintains its intense metallic-blue iridescence.COURTESY OF P.J. RUDALL [downloaded from http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34200/title/Color-from-Structure/]

Stunning, non?

Hydrodynamic alignment and assembly of nano-fibrils results in cellulose fibers stronger than both aluminum and steel

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A June 2, 2014 news item on Azonano describes the new fibres (which come from wood),

“Our filaments are stronger than both aluminium and steel per weight,” emphasizes lead author Prof. Fredrik Lundell from the Wallenberg Wood Science Center at the Royal Swedish Institute of Technology KTH in Stockholm. “The real challenge, however, is to make bio based materials with extreme stiffness that can be used in wind turbine blades, for example. With further improvements, in particular increased fibril alignment, this will be possible.”

The June 2, 2014 DESY ( one of the world’s leading accelerator centres) press release describes the research in detail,

A Swedish-German research team has successfully tested a new method for the production of ultra-strong cellulose fibres at DESY’s research light source PETRA III. The novel procedure spins extremely tough filaments from tiny cellulose fibrils by aligning them all in parallel during the production process. …

…

For their method, the researchers took tiny, nanometre-sized cellulose fibrils and fed them together with water through a small channel. Two additional water jets coming in perpendicular from left and right accelerate the fibril flow. “Following the acceleration, all nano fibrils align themselves more or less parallel with the flow,” explains co-author Dr. Stephan Roth from DESY, head of the experimental station P03 at PETRA III where the experiments took place. “Furthermore, salt is added to the outer streams. The salt makes the fibrils attach to each other, thereby locking the structure of the future filament.”

Finally, the wet filaments are left to dry in air where they shrink to form a strong fibre. “Drying takes a few minutes in air,” explains co-author Dr. Daniel Söderberg from KTH. “The resulting material is completely compatible with the biosphere, since the natural structure of the cellulose is maintained in the fibrils. Thus, it is biodegradable and compatible with human tissue.”

The bright X-ray light from PETRA III enabled the scientists to follow the process and check the configuration of the nano fibrils at various stages in the flow. “Research today is driven by cross-disciplanary collaborations,” underlines Söderberg. “Without the excellent competence and possibilities brought into the project by the team of DESY’s experimental station P03 this would not have been possible.”

As the scientists write, their fibres are much stronger than all other previously reported artificial filaments from cellulose nano fibrils. In fact, the artificial filaments can rival the strongest natural cellulose pulp fibres extracted from wood at the same degree of alignment of the nano fibrils. “In principle, we can make very long fibres,” says Lundell. “Up until now we have made samples that where ten centimetres long or so, but that is more of an equipment issue than a fundamental problem.”

For their experiments, the researchers have used nano fibrils extracted from fresh wood. “In principle, it should be possible to obtain fibrils from recycled paper also,” says Lundell. But he cautions: “The potential of recycled material in this context needs further investigations.”

Here’s a link to and a citation for the published paper,

Hydrodynamic alignment and assembly of nano-fibrils resulting in strong cellulose filaments by Karl M. O. Håkansson, Andreas B. Fall, Fredrik Lundell, Shun Yu, Christina Krywka, Stephan V. Roth, Gonzalo Santoro, Mathias Kvick, Lisa Prahl Wittberg, Lars Wågberg & L. Daniel Söderberg. Nature Communications, 2014; DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5018

This is an open access paper.

I posted a June 3, 2014 item on cellulose nanofibriil titled:  Doubling paper strength with nanofibrils; a nanocellulose.

Nanocellulose from sugarcane?

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Iran adds to this blog’s growing catalogue of plant materials from which nanocellulose can be derived. From an April 27, 2014 news item on Nanowerk,

Researchers from University of Tehran utilized sugarcane waste to produce nanocomposite film (“All-cellulose nanocomposite film made from bagasse cellulose nanofibers for food packaging application”).

The product has unique physical and mechanical properties and has many applications in packaging, glue making, medicine and electronic industries.

An April 28, 2014 Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council (INIC) news release, which originated the news item, describes the advantages of this potential product and the research that led to it,

These nanofibers have simpler, faster and more cost-effective production method in comparison with other production methods. The size of the produced cellulose nanofiber has been reported about 39±13 nm while tension resistant of the nanocomposite produced from the nanofibers has been reported about 140 MPa. The produced nanocomposite has higher strength in comparison with the majority of biodegradable and non-biodegradable films. It seems that the produced nanocomposite can be considered an appropriate option for the elimination of artificial polymers and oil derivatives from packaging materials.

In order to produce the product, cellulose fibers were produced through mechanical milling method after separation and purification of cellulose from sugarcane bagasse, and then nanopapers were produced. Next, full cellulose nanocomposite was produced through partial dissolving method, and its characteristics were evaluated.

Results showed that as the time of partial dissolving increases, the diffusivity of the nanocomposite into vapor decreases due to the increase in glassy part (amorphous) to crystalline part. However, thermal resistant decreases as the time of partial dissolving increases because a decrease is observed in the crystalline part.

In addition, when cellulose microfibers turn into nanofibers, resistance against the tension of the produced films increases. The researchers believe that the reason for the increase is the reduction in fault points (points that lead to the fracture in cellulose fibers), increase in specific area, and integrity of nanofibers. Transparency of samples significantly increases as the size of particles decreases to nanometric scale.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

All-cellulose nanocomposite film made from bagasse cellulose nanofibers for food packaging application by Moein Ghaderi, Mohammad Mousavi, Hossein Yousefi, & Mohsen Labbafi. Carbohydrate Polymers, vol. 104, issue 1, January 2014, pp. 59-65 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.01.013

This paper is behind a paywall.

Inhibiting viruses with nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) in Finland

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Research and interest in cellulose nanomaterials of one kind or another seems to be reaching new heights. That’s my experience since this is my third posting on the topic in one week.

The latest research features NCC (nanocrystalline cellulose [NCC] or, as it’s sometimes known, cellulose nanocrystals [CNC]) ,as a ‘viral inhibitor’ and is described in an April 15, 2014 news item on Nanowerk,

Researchers from Aalto University [Finland] and and the University of Eastern Finland have succeeded in creating a surface on nano-sized cellulose crystals that imitates a biological structure. The surface adsorbs viruses and disables them. The results can prove useful in the development of antiviral ointments and surfaces, for instance.

There are many viral diseases in the world for which no pharmaceutical treatment exists. These include, among others, dengue fever, which is spread by mosquitoes in the tropics, as well as a type of diarrhea, which is more familiar in Finland and is easily spread by the hands and can be dangerous especially for small children and the elderly.

An April 15, 2014 Aalto University news release, which originated the news item, provides more detail,

Researchers at Aalto University and the University of Eastern Finland have now succeeded in preliminary tests to prevent the spread of one type of virus into cells with the help of a new type of nanocrystalline cellulose. Nano-sized cellulose crystals were manufactured out of cotton fibre or filter paper with the help of sulphuric acid, causing sulphate ions with negative charges to attach to their surfaces. The ions then attached to alphaviruses used in the test and neutralised them. When the researchers replaced the sulphate ions with cellulose derivatives that imitate tyrosine sulphates, the activity of the viruses was further reduced. The experiments succeeded in preventing viral infection in 88-100 percent of the time with no noticeable effect on the viability of the cells by the nanoparticles. The research findings were published in the journal Biomacromolecules.

Here’s a diagram illustrating how the new type of NCC works,

Courtesy of Aalto University

Courtesy of Aalto University

The news release includes perspectives from the researchers,

’Certain cellulose derivatives had been seen to have an impact on viruses before. The nano scale increases the proportion of the surface area to that of the number of grams to a very high level, which is an advantage, because viruses specifically attach themselves to surfaces. Making the cellulose crystals biomimetic, which means that they mimic biological structures, was an important step, as we know that in nature viruses often interact specifically with tyrosine structures,’ he [Jukka Seppälä, Professor of Polymer Technology at Aalto University] says.

Both Jukka Seppälä and Ari Hinkkanen, Professor of Gene Transfer Technology at the University of Eastern Finland, emphasise that the research is still in the early stages.

‘Now we know that the attachment of a certain alphavirus can be effectively prevented when we use large amounts of nanocrystalline cellulose.  Next we need to experiment with other alpha viruses and learn to better understand the mechanisms that prevent viral infection. In addition, it is necessary to ascertain if cellulose can also block other viruses and in what conditions, and to investigate whether or not the sulphates have a deleterious effects on an organism,’ Ari Hinkkanen explains.

According to Kristiina Järvinen, Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Eastern Finland, there are many routes that can be taken in the commercialisation of the results. The development of an antiviral medicine is the most distant of these; the idea could be sooner applied in disinfectant ointments and coatings, for instance.

‘It would be possible to provide protection against viruses, spread by mosquitoes, by applying ointment containing nanocrystalline cellulose onto the skin. Nanocrystalline cellulose applied on hospital door handles could kill viruses and prevent them from spreading.  However, we first need to ascertain if the compounds will remain effective in a non-liquid form and how they work in animal tests,’ she ponders.

For the curious, here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Synthesis of Cellulose Nanocrystals Carrying Tyrosine Sulfate Mimetic Ligands and Inhibition of Alphavirus Infection by Justin O. Zoppe, Ville Ruottinen, Janne Ruotsalainen, Seppo Rönkkö, Leena-Sisko Johansson, Ari Hinkkanen, Kristiina Järvinen, and Jukka Seppälä. Biomacromolecules, 2014, 15 (4), pp 1534–1542 DOI: 10.1021/bm500229d Publication Date (Web): March 14, 2014

Copyright © 2014 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.

As for my other recent postings on cellulose nanomaterials, there’s this April 14, 2014 piece titled: Preparing nanocellulose for eventual use in dressings for wounds and this from April 10, 2014 titled: US Dept. of Agriculture wants to commercialize cellulose nanomaterials.

Preparing nanocellulose for eventual use in* dressings for wounds

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Michael Berger writes about a medical application for wood-based nanocellulose in an April 10, 2014 Nanowerk Spotlight article by featuring some recent research from Norway (Note: Links have been removed),

Cellulose is a biopolymer consisting of long chains of glucose with unique structural properties whose supply is practically inexhaustible. It is found in the cell walls of plants where it serves to provide a supporting framework – a sort of skeleton. Nanocellulose from wood – i.e. wood fibers broken down to the nanoscale – is a promising nanomaterial with potential applications as a substrate for printing electronics, filtration, or biomedicine.

Researchers have now reported on a method to control the surface chemistry of nanocellulose. The paper appeared in the April 8, 2014 online edition of the Journal of Biomaterials Applications (“Pretreatment-dependent surface chemistry of wood nanocellulose for pH-sensitive hydrogels”).

Using a specific chemical pretreatment as example (carboxymethylation and periodate oxidation), a team from the Paper and Fibre Research Institute (PFI) in Norway demonstrated that they could manufacture nanofibrils with a considerable amount of carboxyl groups and aldehyde groups, which could be applied for functionalizing the material.

The Norwegian researchers are working within the auspices of PFI‘s NanoHeal project featured in my Aug. 23, 2012 posting. It’s good to see that progress is being made. From the Berger’s article,

A specific activity that the PFI researchers and collaborators are working with in the NanoHeal project is the production of an ultrapure nanocellulose which is important for biomedical applications. Considering that the nanocellulose hydrogel material can be cross-linked and have a reactive surface chemistry there are various potential applications.

“A concrete application that we are working with in this specific case is as dressing for wound healing, another is scaffolds,” adds senior research scientist and co-author Kristin Syverud.

“Production of an ultrapure nanocellulose quality is an activity that we are intensifying together with our research partners at the Institute of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine in Trondheim,” notes Chinga-Carrasco [Gary Chinga-Carrasco, a senior research scientist at PFI]. “The results look good and we expect to have a concrete protocol for production of ultrapure nanocellulose soon, for an adequate assessment of its biocompatibility.”

…

“We have various groups working with assessment of the suitability of nanocellulose as a barrier against wound bacteria and also with the assessment of the cytotoxicity and biocompatibility,” he says. “However, as a first step we have intensified our work on the production of nanocellulose that we expect will be adequate for wound dressings, part of these activities are described in this paper.”

I suggest reading Berger’s article in its totality for a more detailed description of the many hurdles researchers still have to overcome. For the curious, here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Pretreatment-dependent surface chemistry of wood nanocellulose for pH-sensitive hydrogels by Gary Chinga-Carrasco & Kristin Syverud. Published online before print April 8, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0885328214531511 J Biomater Appl April 8, 2014 0885328214531511

This paper is behind a paywall.

I was hoping to find someone from this group in the list of speakers for 2014 TAPPI Nanotechnology conference website here (officially known as 2014 TAPPI [Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry] International Conference on Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials) being held in Vancouver, Canada (June 23-26, 2014) but had no luck.

* ‘as’ changed to ‘in’ Apr.14.14 10:50 am PDT in headline

US Dept. of Agriculture wants to commercialize cellulose nanomaterials

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Lynn Bergeson in an April 7, 2014 posting on the Nanotechnology Now website announced an upcoming ‘nano commercialization’ workshop (Note: A link has been removed),

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) will hold a May 20-21, 2014, workshop entitled “Cellulose Nanomaterial — A Path Towards Commercialization.” See http://www.nano.gov/ncworkshop The workshop is intended to bring together high level executives from government and multiple industrial sectors to identify pathways for the commercialization of cellulose nanomaterials and facilitate communication across industry sectors to determine common challenges.

You can find out more about the Cellulose Nanomaterial — A Path Towards Commercialization workshop here where you can also register and find an agenda, (Note: Links have been removed),

The primary goal of the workshop is to identify the critical information gaps and technical barriers in the commercialization of cellulose nanomaterials with expert input from user communities. The workshop also supports the announcement last December by USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack regarding the formation of a public-private partnership between the USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities to rapidly advance the commercialization of cellulose nanomaterials. In addition, the workshop supports the goals of the NNI Sustainable Nanomanufacturing Signature Initiative/

The workshop is open to the public, after registration, on a first-come, first-served basis.

There is an invitation letter dated Feb. 7, 2014, which provides some additional detail,

The primary goals of the workshop are to identify critical information gaps and technical barriers in the commercialization of cellulose nanomaterials with expert input from user communities. We plan to use the outcome of the workshop to guide research planning in P3Nano and in the Federal Government.

The Cellulose Nanomaterial — A Path Towards Commercialization workshop agenda lists some interesting names. The names I’ve chosen from the list are the speakers from the corporate sectors, all eight of them with two being tentatively scheduled; there are 22 speakers listed in total at this time,

Tom Connelly – DuPont (Tentative)
Travis Earles, Technology Manager, Lockheed Martin
Beth Cormier, Vice President for R&D and Technology, SAPPI Paper
Ed Socci, Director of Beverage Packaging, PepsiCo Advanced Research
Mark Harmon, DuPont (tentative)
Kim Nelson, Vice President for Government Affairs, API
Jean Moreau, CEO, CelluForce
Yoram Shkedi, Melodea

For the most part the speakers will be academics or government bureaucrats and while the title is ‘cellulose nanomaterials’ the speaker list suggests the topic will be heavily weighted to CNC/NCC (cellulose nanocrystals, aka, nanocrystalline cellulose). Of course, I recognize the Canadian, Jean Moreau of CelluForce, a Canadian CNC production facility. I wonder if he will be discussing the stockpile, which was first mentioned here in my Oct. 3, 2013 posting,

I stumbled across an interesting little article on the Celluforce website about the current state of NCC (nanocrystalline cellulose aka CNC [cellulose nanocrystals]) production, Canada’s claim to fame in the nanocellulose world. From an August 2013 Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Spotlight series article,

The pilot plant, located at the Domtar pulp and paper mill in Windsor, Quebec, is a joint venture between Domtar and FPInnnovations called CelluForce. The plant, which began operations in January 2012, has since successfully demonstrated its capacity to produce NCC on a continuous basis, thus enabling a sufficient inventory of NCC to be collected for product development and testing. Operations at the pilot plant are temporarily on hold while CelluForce evaluates the potential markets for various NCC applications with its stockpiled material. [emphasis mine]

I also recognized Melodea which I mentioned here in an Oct. 31, 2013 posting titled: Israeli start-up Melodea and its nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) projects.

A couple of final notes here, NCC (nanocrystalline cellulose) is also known as cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and I believe the second term is becoming the more popular one to use. As for the final of these two notes, I had an illuminating conversation earlier this year (2014) about CNC and its accessibility. According to my source, there’s been a decision that only large industry players will get access to CNC for commercialization purposes. I can’t verify the veracity of the statement but over the last few years I’ve had a few individual entrepreneurs contact me with hopes that i could help them access the materials. All of them of them had tried the sources I was to suggest and not one had been successful. As well, I note the speaker list includes someone from PepsiCo, someone from Dupont, and someone from Lockheed Martin, all of which could be described as large industry players. (I’m not familiar with either API or SAPPI Paper so cannot offer any opinions as to their size or importance.) Melodea’s access is government-mandated due to research grants from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7).

I’m not sure one can encourage innovation by restricting access to raw materials to large industry players or government-funded projects as one might be suspected from my back channel experience, the conversation as reported to me, and the speaker list for this workshop.