Exploring reactive hydrodynamic focusing to create novel thread-like CF bio-composites

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The harvest of natural resources is the backbone of the thriving Canadian economy. Without a viable pulp and paper industry it is not possible to have a viable forestry industry. Traditionally, BC and Canada's pulp and paper sector has been a newsprint exporter to the US market. The recent economic downturn, coupled with disruptive technologies for paperless communication, has resulted in a 40% reduction in newsprint and communication paper consumption. This turning point means that the forest industry's survival depends on Canada's ability to develop innovative new uses for high quality BC wood fibres. Despite these market changes, the future of the forest industry in BC and Canada is bright-green, and the timing for a broader consumer acceptance of fibre based materials and products may never be better. Our shifting focus on the environment and climate change makes the use of natural wood fibre a significantly planet friendly choice over traditional fossil based and other non-renewable materials. Historically, before the plastic revolution, fibre was the dominant material for many consumer level products, including clothing, wall coverings, carpet underlay, and of course, grocery bags. We expect to be constructing houses from trees for the foreseeable future and as a result there will be an abundance of high quality residual wood fibre. The competitiveness of the forest industry is dependent on the ability to extract high value fibre to create novel products or processes. This proposal addresses a novel platform technology, i.e. hydrodynamic focussing coupled with reactive multi-fluid layering to develop novel composite products from cellulose micro-fibrils. This production methodology is based upon bio-mimicry of the production of a spider's silk with the goal of producing high performance bio-composites such as threads, filaments, hollow tubes or films. If feasible, parallelization for industrial production is immediately possible. A three year project is proposed to be conducted by one Post-Doctoral fellow.