Collaborative Research: Engineering Fully Biobased Foams for the Building Industry

建筑物满足了广泛的个人和社会需求，但也带来了巨大的环境挑战。 它们每年消耗大约40%的美国能源和40%的二氧化碳排放。 虽然某些材料在拆除后会被重新使用或回收，但大多数材料都作为建筑和拆卸废物填埋。木材、塑料和干墙构成了建筑和拆除废物的很大一部分。这些材料通常使用时间较短，在垃圾填埋场中不易降解，并且分离和回收需要大量能源。 许多材料可以被快速可再生和可生物降解的材料（当停止使用时）所取代。该项目的目的是设计一种新型的完全可回收的刚性绝缘材料，用于建筑物，有助于节能建筑运营，改善室内声音和潜在的空气质量，并有很高的可能性被建筑行业采用。通过北德克萨斯大学和斯坦福大学之间的合作，将教育一批多样化的本科生和研究生。 这项研究将被纳入相关课程和在线学习模块。此外，该项目提出了一个有趣的话题，吸引年轻人参与K-12推广计划。该合作研究项目的目标是设计一种完全生物资源的复合泡沫，以实现可调的建筑应用中的热，声学和机械性能。该技术方法将联合收割机结合材料、化学和结构工程师的专业知识，以（1）使用可再生颗粒来研究颗粒尺寸、形状和孔隙率对生物复合材料泡沫的细胞形成的影响，（2）探索颗粒的界面化学以影响颗粒-泡沫分散和细胞结构，以及（3）确定使用不同聚合物的方法，共混物和发泡条件，以通过一种新的超临界二氧化碳间歇加工方法获得闭孔和混合的开孔和闭孔泡沫，该方法有助于制造建筑规模的板。还将研究水分对热性能、声学性能和机械性能的影响，以了解使用中的行为。性能指标最初将针对住宅建筑中使用的现有硬质绝缘泡沫塑料，并将扩展到评估建筑部件的新材料组件。这项研究将（1）导致对填料-聚合物相互作用，细胞成核，气泡生长及其对运输（如水分，热和声学现象）的影响的新理解，（2）推进对细胞结构中完全生物基材料的理解，这对轻质和功能材料的所有领域都至关重要，以及（3）为细胞结构发现多种用途的领域提供可再生的替代物，所述多种用途的范围从生物医学到运输以及建筑科学。

Buildings meet a wide array of personal and societal needs but present large environmental challenges. They consume roughly 40 percent of US energy resources annually and 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. While certain materials are reused or recycled after their removal from service, most are landfilled as construction and demolition waste. Wood, plastics, and drywall make up a significant portion of construction and demolition waste. These materials are often used for short durations, are resistant to degradation in landfills, and are energy intensive to separate and recycle. Many can potentially be replaced by rapidly renewable and biodegradable (when out of service) materials. The aim of this project is to engineer a new class of fully recyclable rigid insulating material for buildings that contribute to energy-efficient building operations, improved indoor sound and potentially air quality, and have a high likelihood of adoption by the construction industry. Through the collaboration between University of North Texas and Stanford, a diverse cohort of undergraduate and graduate students will be educated. This research will be incorporated into relevant courses and online publically accessible learning modules. Furthermore, this project presents a curious topic to engage young minds in K-12 outreach programs.The objective of this collaborative research project is to engineer a fully bio-resourced composite foam to achieve tunable concurrent thermal, acoustic and mechanical performance for building applications. The technical approach will combine the expertise of materials, chemical and structural engineers to (1) use renewable particulates to investigate the impact of particle size, shape and porosity on cellular formation of biocomposite foams, (2) explore interfacial chemistry of the particulates to impact particle-foam dispersion and cellular architecture, and (3) identify methods of using different polymers, blends and foaming conditions to achieve closed-cell and mixed open and closed-cell foams through a novel supercritical carbon dioxide batch processing method that is conducive to the fabrication of building-scale panels. The impact of moisture on thermal, acoustic and mechanical properties will also be investigated to understand in-service behavior. Performance metrics will initially target those of existing rigid insulating foams used in residential construction and will be extended to the evaluation of new material assemblies for building components. This research will (1) lead to new understanding of filler-polymer interactions, cell nucleation, bubble growth and their consequences on transport such as moisture, thermal and acoustic phenomena, (2) advance understanding of fully bio-based materials in cellular structures that are vital to all areas of lightweight and functional materials, and (3) offer renewable alternatives to fields where cellular structures find multiple uses ranging from biomedical to transportation as well as building science.