I-Corps: Toward commercializing cellulose fiber-reinforced polymer composites

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是将一种制造具有增强效益的优质复合材料的方法商业化，这些复合材料是可持续和环境友好的。这项新技术可能会给复合材料行业带来革命性的变化，特别是建筑、建筑、汽车和飞机等依赖这些材料的制造业。在生产复合材料中更多地使用木纤维也可能促进造纸业，因为木浆提供了一种重要的新用途，因为从纸中提取的纤维素纤维是该项目产品的原材料。由于纤维素(或木材)是可再生的，以农产品为基础，复合材料在使用寿命后会在不损害环境的情况下进行生物降解。该项目将影响美国复合材料市场的需求，预计到2019年，美国复合材料市场的需求将达到100亿美元以上，复合年增长率约为7%，并在将新技术转化为市场就绪产品的过程中为项目参与者提供培训。这个i-Corps项目致力于通过创造具有优异承载性能的天然纤维增强的高性能聚合物复合材料来解决开发新的环境友好和可持续材料的长期目标。该项目涉及一项使用天然纤维素(或木材)纤维来增强塑料材料的新技术。使用纤维素(或木纤维)直接转化称为单体的聚合物构建块，使制造商可以省去熔融阶段，即材料成型，然后固化成各种产品。这项新的加工技术通常是将木纤维放入纸中，放入模具中，然后注入一种用于制造聚合物的“反应”混合物。该工艺的相对温度较低，从而使纤维保持其固有的结构完整性以及机械强度和刚性。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is commercialization of a method of making superior composites with enhanced benefits that are sustainable and environmentally friendly. The new technology could revolutionize the composite industry, especially manufacturing sectors that rely on these materials, such as building, construction, automobiles, and aircraft. Greater use of wood fibers in producing composites also could be a boost to the paper industry by providing an important new use for wood pulp, since cellulose fiber extracted from paper is a raw material for the product of this project. Because the cellulose (or wood) is renewable and based on agricultural products, the composite materials would biodegrade after their service life without harming the environment. The project will impact the demand in the U.S. composites market that is projected to reach over $10 billion by 2019, at a compound annual growth rate of about seven percent, and provide training to the project participants in the process of converting the new technology into a market-ready product.This I-Corps project addresses a long lasting goal of developing new environmentally friendly and sustainable materials by creating high-performance polymer composites reinforced by natural fibers with superior load-bearing properties. The project involves a new technology that uses natural cellulose (or wood) fibers to reinforce plastic materials. Using cellulose (or wood fibers) in the direct conversion of the polymer building blocks called monomers allows manufacturers to eliminate the melting stage, which is when the materials are shaped, then later solidified into various products. The new processing technology involves taking the wood fibers, usually within paper, and placing them in a mold, then injecting a "reaction" mixture used to make the polymers. The process is down a low relative temperature thus leaving the fibers with their intrinsic structural integrity and mechanical strength and stiffness.