SBIR Phase I: A Novel Carbon-Sequestering Biomaterial for Dropped Ceiling Tiles

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响是验证一种新的富含生物炭的建筑材料作为天花板瓷砖产品。天花板瓷砖的平面代表了一个巨大的、尚未开发的机会，可以通过碳封存来应对气候变化。有了这项创新，一种专有的矿物基质富含50-80%的生物炭。生物炭是热解后产生的类似木炭的残渣。这种稳定形式的碳几乎是结晶的，并且抵抗引起排放的氧化。结合专有的矿物粘合剂，产生的新型材料是不易燃的，超轻的，可生物降解的。作为一种天花板瓷砖，它可以以一种容易量化的方式减少建筑物的碳含量，为建筑物定位碳汇报酬，提高建筑物的绿色评级，帮助建筑物获得与可持续发展相关的融资资格——所有这些都不会影响消防安全标准。该项目实现了一项创新，增加了国家在创造气候负责任的建筑环境方面的工具包。该项目的创新是一种新颖的、生物源的、胶凝化学物质，由植物性生物炭、粘土、结合矿物、专有催化剂、可选增强纤维和可选颜料组成。生物炭的加入是这项创新的一个主要特点，它占材料的80%。与储存在植物物质、海洋或土壤中的碳不同，生物炭的碳原子更能抵抗失去电子和转化为二氧化碳，因此使这项创新成为一种将建筑环境转化为“碳库”的新颖解决方案。有三个主要问题需要解决：不同的生物炭颗粒大小如何影响瓷砖的完整性，在不同的环境湿度水平下，这种创新能否在标准瓷砖尺寸下表现令人满意，以及瓷砖能否达到竞争瓷砖的A级防火标准。迭代实验协议将利用经典的美国材料测试协会（ASTM）测试来证明这三个研究领域的建筑规范合规性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to validate a new, biochar-enriched building material as a ceiling tile product. The plane of ceiling tiles represents a vast, untapped opportunity in combating climate change through carbon sequestration. With the innovation, a proprietary mineral matrix is enriched with 50-80% biochar. Biochar is the resulting charcoal-like residue from pyrolysis. This stabilized form of carbon is nearly crystalline and resistant to emissions-causing oxidation. Combined with a proprietary mineral binder, the resulting novel material is non-flammable, ultra lightweight, and biodegradable. As a ceiling tile, it can reduce a building’s embodied carbon in an easily quantifiable way, position the building for carbon sink remuneration, boost the green ratings of the building, help qualify a building for sustainability-linked financing - all without compromising on fire safety standards. This project capacitates an innovation that adds to the nation's toolkit in creating a climate-responsible built environment.The project innovation is a novel, biogenic, cementitious chemistry composed of plant-based biochar, clay, binding minerals, proprietary catalysts, optional reinforcement fibers and optional pigments. The inclusion of biochar is a major characteristic of the innovation, comprising up to 80% of the material. Unlike carbon stored in plant matter, the ocean or in soil, the carbon atoms of biochar are more resistant to losing electrons and being converted into carbon dioxide, therefore making the innovation a novel solution towards converting the built environment into a "carbon bank". There are three major questions to resolve: how could varying biochar particle sizes impact tile integrity, can the innovation perform satisfactorily in standard tile dimensions amidst different ambient humidity levels, and can the tiles achieve the Class A fire standard of competing tiles. The iterative experimental protocols will utilize the classic American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) tests used to demonstrate building code compliance in all three of these research areas.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.