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

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响是验证一种新的、富含生物碳的建筑材料作为天花板瓷砖产品的有效性。天花板瓷砖的平面代表着一个巨大的、尚未开发的机会，可以通过碳封存来应对气候变化。通过这项创新，一种专有的矿物基质含有50%-80%的生物炭。生物炭是热解产生的类似木炭的残留物。这种稳定形式的碳几乎是结晶的，并能抵抗导致排放的氧化。与专利矿物粘结剂相结合，得到的新型材料是不可燃、超轻和可生物降解的。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内含碳，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。该项目支持了一项创新，这项创新增加了国家在创造对气候负责的建筑环境方面的工具包。该项目的创新是一种新颖的、生物来源的胶凝化学，由植物性生物炭、粘土、结合矿物、专有催化剂、可选的增强纤维和可选的颜料组成。包含生物炭是这项创新的一大特点，占材料的80%。与储存在植物、海洋或土壤中的碳不同，生物炭的碳原子更不易失去电子并被转化为二氧化碳，因此使这项创新成为将建筑环境转化为“碳库”的一种新颖解决方案。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；这项创新能否在不同的环境湿度水平下在标准瓷砖尺寸下令人满意地执行；以及瓷砖能否达到竞争瓷砖的A级防火标准。迭代实验协议将使用经典的美国测试与材料协会(ASTM)测试，用于证明所有这三个研究领域的建筑规范合规性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.