SBIR Phase II: Supercritical Fluid Processing of Polymer/Clay Nanocomposites

SBIR 第二阶段：聚合物/粘土纳米复合材料的超临界流体加工

• 批准号: 0646447
• 负责人: Pranav Nawani
• 金额: $ 49.85万
• 依托单位: nanoScienceEngineering Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-01-01 至 2011-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0646447&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Supercritical; Fluid

This Small Businesss Innovation Reseach (SBIR) project will address a major technological barrier to producing superior nanocomposites by overcoming the difficulty of dispersing nano-fillers uniformly in a host matrix to derive the maximum surface area advantage. When effective filler dispersion is coupled with improved polymer-clay interactions, a significant technological gap in the field of polymer nanocomposites can be addressed. The company, nanoSEC has licensed, developed, and 'validated' (lab scale) a supercritical fluid-based dispersion (SCFP) technology, that produces significant clay dispersion using a simple, versatile, environmentally friendly process that utilizes the unusual properties of supercritical CO2. During Phase I, the clay dispersion conditions were optimized and showed significant property improvements in the resultant nanocomposites that were appreciably better than those in literature. During Phase II, these technical accomplishments will be translated towards commercial success by: (1) producing and benchmarking pilot-scale polystyrene/clay, polyethylene/clay, polypropylene/clay nanocomposites for mechanical and barrier property improvements, with applications in automotive and food packaging industries; (2) scaling up the pilot production process to produce 200 lbs/week of dispersed clay in Year 1, and to produce 1 million lbs/year of polymer-clay nanocomposites (at 10% clay loading) by Year 3; (3) developing specific joint development agreements with business customers for faster adaptation of nanoSEC's technology in actual products.Commercially, nanoSEC's technology addresses a key need in nanocomposites, which could single-handedly revive the packaging technology applications of nanocomposites. Several companies have expressed strong interest in joint development agreements. Working closely with Wayne State, and end users like Ford, Daimler Chrysler, and GE Plastics will enable nanoSEC to advance both on research and commercial sides to produce a revenue of close to $ 8 million by the end of 2008. The Phase II project will enable pilot-commercial scale validation for rapid development and nanoSEC's location in the state-of-the- art NextEnergy building in Detroit, and the familiarity of the participants with the automotive and food packaging industry will enable unique applications to be achieved in a timely manner. The 'top down' strategy to partner with end users will enable fast implementation upon validation.

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）项目将解决生产上级纳米复合材料的主要技术障碍，克服纳米填料均匀分散在基质中的困难，以获得最大的表面积优势。当有效的填料分散与改进的聚合物-粘土相互作用相结合时，可以解决聚合物纳米复合材料领域中的重大技术差距。nanoSEC公司已获得许可、开发并“验证”（实验室规模）超临界流体分散（SCFP）技术，该技术使用简单、多功能、环保的工艺生产大量粘土分散体，该工艺利用超临界二氧化碳的不寻常特性。在第一阶段，粘土分散条件进行了优化，并显示出显着的性能改善所得纳米复合材料，明显优于文献中的那些。在第二阶段，这些技术成果将通过以下方式转化为商业成功：（1）生产和基准测试中试规模的聚苯乙烯/粘土、聚乙烯/粘土、聚丙烯/粘土纳米复合材料，用于机械和阻隔性能的改进，并应用于汽车和食品包装行业;（2）扩大试验生产过程，在第一年生产200磅/周的分散粘土，并生产1百万磅/年的聚合物-粘土纳米复合材料（3）与商业客户制定具体的联合开发协议，以便更快地将nanoSEC的技术应用于实际产品中。在商业上，nanoSEC的技术解决了纳米复合材料的关键需求，这可以单独重振纳米复合材料的包装技术应用。几家公司对联合开发协议表示了浓厚的兴趣。与韦恩州立大学以及福特、戴姆勒克莱斯勒和通用电气塑料公司等最终用户密切合作，将使纳米SEC在研究和商业方面都取得进展，到2008年底创造近800万美元的收入。第二阶段项目将实现快速开发的试点商业规模验证，nanoSEC位于底特律最先进的NextEnergy大楼，参与者对汽车和食品包装行业的熟悉将使独特的应用能够及时实现。与最终用户合作的“自上而下”战略将在验证后快速实施。