PREMISE II: Design and Engineering of Green Composites From Biofibers and Bioplastics

该研究项目的目标是推进基于工程天然/生物纤维和生物塑料的可持续可再生资源的“绿色”生物复合材料的加工和制造的基础知识。该方法是利用由细菌生产的新型生物塑料和从玉米油中提取的生物塑料，以植物生物纤维为增强剂，通过挤压注射成型和新的水热成型工艺生产结构生物复合材料。一项综合研究计划将涵盖教育、经济、环境和能源方面，以加强“设计”和“制造”之间的联系，以实现“可持续发展”。与来自整个技术领域的代表性行业参与者建立强有力的合作伙伴关系，将为确保未来的相关性和工业实施增加额外的力量。这项研究将形成一个框架，作为结构材料从石油基资源向生物基、可持续资源过渡的基础，同时保持一个可行的性价比结构。对这些新的“可持续”替代材料的需求和利用的进步将为农民创造新的收入来源，增加生物基产品的使用，并减少国家对石油资源的依赖。该项目还将产生新的教育模块，可以将所有重要的环境考虑因素纳入传统的工程教育中。

The objective of this research project is the advancement of fundamental knowledge for the processing and manufacturing of sustainable renewable resource-based "green" biocomposites from engineered natural/bio-fiber and bioplastics. The approach is to utilize new emerging bioplastics produced by bacteria and bioplastics derived from corn oil with plant biofibers as reinforcements to produce structural biocomposites via extrusion-injection molding and a new hydro-thermoforming process. An integrated research program will be conducted encompassing education, economics, environment and energy aspects to strengthen the connection between "Design" and "Manufacturing" in order to achieve 'sustainability'. A strong collaborative partnership with representative industrial participants from across the technology will add additional strength to insure relevancy and industrial implementation in the future. This research will result in a framework that will serve as the foundation for transitioning away from petroleum based resources to biobased, sustainable resources in structural materials while maintaining a viable cost-performance structure. Advancement in the demand for and utilization of these new alternative 'sustainable" materials will create new sources of revenue for farmers, increase the use of biobased products and reduce the nation's dependence on petroleum resources. The project will also produce new educational modules that can serve to integrate the full range of important environmental considerations into traditional engineering education.