SBIR Phase I: Manufacturing of Next Generation Biobased Composites

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目计划研究和开发以高性能家禽羽毛纤维为原料的生物基材料。蚕丝和羽毛等蛋白质纤维具有高硬度和低密度，使它们具有类似于钢的密度归一化特性。事实证明，丝绸的生产成本太高。羽毛纤维作为家禽养殖业的一种废弃物，可以方便、经济地获得性能相当的羽毛纤维。随着制造商从100%化石燃料塑料向生物含量增加的塑料转型，生物塑料市场蓬勃发展。聚乙烯(PE)和聚丙烯(PP)占美国塑料产量的54%。在PE或PP中加入羽毛纤维可以提高生物基含量和性能，从而增加产品的附加值。该项目的目标是创造一种通用的羽毛纤维添加剂，可以很容易地运送到客户手中，并使用现有的加工设备复合到现有的塑料中。这项工作的具体目标是：1)进一步发展该公司现有的羽毛纤维工艺，以提高产量；2)研究用粘结剂将羽毛纤维造粒的方法，以创造出符合现有塑料制造工艺的纤维“浓缩”。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是创造一种以生物为基础的替代品，以取代从化石燃料中提取的传统商品塑料。化石燃料价格的上涨和对供应的担忧为使用每年可再生的生物来源的生物塑料创造了机会。与传统塑料相比，100%生物基塑料价格昂贵，性能较差，需要不同的加工。市场驱动因素正在推动制造商逐步过渡到生物基塑料，以获得作为生物基产品的认证。为了变得更加一体化，并服务于更多的市场，我们的目标是创造一种通用的羽毛纤维添加剂，可以运输和销售给所有客户。浓缩羽毛纤维将使更多的客户转向生物塑料，这是一个每年增长17.8%的市场。这将减少塑料行业对化石燃料的依赖，并创造出更环保的产品。此外，它还将允许重复使用农业副产品家禽羽毛，目前这些羽毛被填入土地或重新加工到羽毛厂。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to research and develop bio-based materials from high performance poultry feather fiber. Protein fibers like silk and feather have high stiffness and low density, giving them density-normalized properties similar to steel. Silk has proven too costly to manufacture. Feather fiber, which has comparable properties, can be obtained easily and economically as a waste product of the poultry industry. There is a burgeoning market for bio-based plastics as manufacturers transition from 100% fossil fuel-based plastics to ones with increased bio-based content. Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) account for 54% of U.S. plastics production. Adding feather fiber to PE or PP would increase the bio-based content and properties, thus adding value to the product. The goal of this project is to create a universal feather fiber additive that can be easily shipped to customers and compounded into an existing plastic using the existing processing equipment. The specific goals of the work are to 1) further develop the company's existing feather fiber process to increase yield and 2) research methods to pelletize the feather fibers with binders to create a fiber "concentrate" that is amenable to existing plastics manufacturing processes. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the creation of a bio-based replacement for traditional commodity plastics that are derived from fossil fuels. The rise in fossil fuel prices, and supply concerns have created opportunities for bio-based plastics from annually renewable biological sources. Compared to traditional plastics, 100% bio-based plastics are expensive, have inferior properties, and require different processing. Market drivers are pushing manufacturers to transition to bio-based plastics incrementally, in order to obtain certification as a bio-based product. To become more integrated and to serve more markets, the intention is to create one universal feather fiber additive that can be shipped and sold to all customers. The feather fiber concentrate will allow more customers to segue to bio-based plastics, which is a market growing at 17.8% per year. This will reduce the plastic industry's reliance on fossil fuels and create more environmentally-friendly products. In addition, it will allow the re-use of an agricultural byproduct, poultry feathers, which are currently land filled or reground to feather mill.