US-Egypt Cooperative Research: Preparation and Evaluation of New Environmentally Friendly "Lignocellulosic Composites" from Waste Agricultural Products.

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0001600GobranDescription: This award is to support a collaborative project by Dr. Riad Gobran, Materials Engineering Department, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Dr. Altaf H. Basta, Cellulose and Paper Department, the National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt. They plan to study the use of readily available waste agricultural products such as bagasse, rice straw and cotton stalks as non-wood lignocellulosic sources. These would be used in combination with readily available inorganic compounds to form new and environmentally friendly composites. The mechanical, electrical, biological and flame retardant properties will be examined and optimized by varying the type and amount of inorganic compounds used. Studies will be made of the economics of the proposed systems and comparison will be made between the cost of manufacturing using these systems against conventional systems.Scope: The US PI and the Egyptian collaborator have strong records of research and experience in areas directly related to this project, namely the chemistry and technology of cellulose, lignin, and lignocellulosic materials and their applications in paper industries, composite wood, as well as in cellulose derivatives. The two investigators complement each other. Dr. Basta will carry out pretreatment of lignocellulosic raw materials and preparation of new additives to be used as replacement of conventional resins. Dr. Gobran will carry out complimentary experimental work for the evaluation of composites, especially toughness measurements and impact resistance under various conditions. He will conduct studies of the morphology of the composites using electron-scanning microscopy. The two will exchange samples for testing of repeatability of results, and will participate in the analysis of data and conclusions. This proposal meets the INT objective of supporting collaborative research in areas of mutual interest. This project is being supported under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program, which provides grants to scientists and engineers in both countries to carry out these cooperative activities.