Multifunctional electrospun carbon nanofibres from bio-refinery byproducts for alternative energy devices

在纤维素乙醇工业中，在量子基础上产生大致等量的乙醇和木质素。预计每年将生产1000亿加仑的生物质乙醇，同时将产生约3000亿公斤的木质素。纤维素乙醇工业的挑战性问题之一是研究木质素的增值产品。本提案旨在研究通过先进的静电纺丝技术，然后进行受控碳化，从被低估的木质素中高效低成本合成连续碳纳米纤维结构。 它还将研究它们在替代能源设备中的应用，作为传统生产的高成本碳纳米纤维和纳米管的替代品。来自生物乙醇生产的木质素在结构上不同于来自造纸工业的木质素。因此，该项目还采用了研究纤维素乙醇工业中使用的不同原料和预处理的不同木质素形式的新方法。这将为了解木质素结构及其通过静电纺丝转化为碳纳米纤维增加新的知识。木质素由于其高的碳含量而具有作为用于合成碳纳米结构的前体的优势，这预期得到优异的碳纳米纤维产率。该项目的总体目标是通过创建科学知识库来加速纳米生物材料的工业应用。这一基础将通过将基础科学与经济上可行的工艺技术相结合来建立，以确保适用于工业。成功利用木质素（一种“生物精炼副产品”）作为碳纳米纤维的原材料来源，将满足鼓励使用生物基材料的各种联邦法律和法规，同时为生物燃料工业提供额外收入。加拿大新纳米生物材料知识库的出现将提高加拿大替代能源设备制造业的全球竞争力。

In cellulosic ethanol industries, roughly equal amounts of ethanol and lignin are produced on a quantum basis. The forecasted 100 billion gallon of biomass ethanol to be produced per year will be accompanied by around 300 billion kilograms of lignin. One of the challenging issues for the cellulosic ethanol industry is to investigate value-added products from the lignin. This present proposal looks to investigate the highly efficient low-cost synthesis of continuous carbon nanofibre structures from undervalued lignin by an advanced electrospinning techniques followed by controlled carbonisation. It also will study their application in alternative energy devices as a substitute for high cost traditionally produced carbon nanofibres and nanotubes. The lignin from bioethanol production is structurally different than lignin from paper industries. Therefore, this project also takes the novel approach of investigating different lignins forms from varied feedstocks and pre-treatments as used in the cellulosic ethanol industry. This will add new knowledge to the understanding of lignin structures and their conversion to carbon nanofibre by electrospinning. Lignin has an advantage as a precursor for the synthesis of carbon nanostructures due to its high carbon content, which expected to give an excellent yield of carbon nanofibres. The overall goal of this project is to accelerate the industrial use of nano-bio-materials by creating a scientific knowledge base. This foundation will be established by combining fundamental science with economically viable process technologies to ensure applicability to industry. Success in the utilization of lignin, a "bio-refinery byproduct," as a source of raw materials for carbon nanofibres, will satisfy various federal laws and regulations that encourage the use of biobased materials, while providing additional income to the biofuel industries. The emergence of a Canadian knowledge base for new nanobiomaterials will enhance the global competitiveness for the Canadian alternative energy device manufacturing sector.