Renewable resource-based lightweight biocomposites for sustainable manufacturing

本申请提出了一种用于生产可再生资源基碳质生物复合材料的综合研究计划，该碳质生物复合材料比用于汽车部件制造的石油基玻璃纤维复合材料显著更轻（例如约20%）。每减少一磅重量都有利于汽车制造商，因为他们正在努力实现新的企业平均燃油经济性（CAFE）标准，即到2025年车队平均每加仑54.5英里。为了利用生物复合材料在轻量化，可再生性，低碳足迹和减少温室气体（GHG）排放方面的优势，该计划将采用严格的，创造性的科学来解决关键的技术障碍。 申请人提出通过新的多样化方法重新发明生物复合材料，其中将利用热化学生物质转化（热解）来克服与将生物纤维用于复合材料应用相关的挑战。天然纤维在当前生物复合材料用途中的主要限制因素是：其成品中不需要的气味和美观性，限制其用于工程塑料增强材料的低温耐受性，亲水性和供应链问题。实施新的想法，从非食品和废物生物质中开发最大价值，用于碳质生物基增强材料，是这里的重点，除了满足汽车零件用途的性能属性要求外，还可以解决供需缺口。 与世界各地主要关注能源回收的其他热解研究活动不同，该计划侧重于尖端的可持续材料。实验方法是通过将生物基共混基质系统与分级（宏观-微米-纳米）增强相结合来制造新型生物复合材料，所述分级（宏观-微米-纳米）增强是从烘焙生物质（通过低温热解）与纳米和微米生物碳（通过高温热解获得）的混合增强获得的。该研究将创造长期的竞争优势，使新型生物复合材料能够在大批量工业应用中使用。 拟议的研究活动是及时的，创新的，在国际上处于领先地位。研究成果将有助于在生物复合材料的设计和工程领域的基础知识发现，包括生物聚合物共混物，相容性和耐久性添加剂的使用，绿色表面改性，加工技术，分子结构和功能性能。这个跨学科的计划将通过激励基于团队的创造性解决方案来开发HQP，以解决明确的技术障碍。通过与工业界合作，了解规模扩大和其他真实的世界要求，HQP将提高他们的基础知识，以便成为先进生物复合材料科学工业应用前沿的未来领导者。

This application proposes a comprehensive research program for producing renewable resource-based carbonaceous biocomposites that are significantly lighter (e.g. ~20%) than their petro-based glass fiber composite counterparts for automotive parts manufacturing. Every pound of weight saving is beneficial to automakers as they strive to achieve new corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, a fleet average of 54.5 mpg by 2025. To exploit the benefits of biocomposite materials in terms of their lightweighting, renewability, low carbon footprint and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emission this program will apply rigorous, creative science to solve critical technical barriers. The applicant proposes to re-invent biocomposites through a new diversified approach where thermo-chemical biomass conversion (pyrolysis) will be utilized to overcome the challenges associated with the use of biofibres for composite applications. The dominant constraints for natural fibres in current biocomposite uses are: unwanted odor and aesthetics in their finished products, low temperature resistance limiting their uses for engineering plastic reinforcements, hydrophilicity and supply chain issues. The implementation of novel ideas to exploit maximum value from non-food and waste biomasses for carbonaceous biobased reinforcements is the focus here to address both the supply and demand gap in addition to achieving performance attributes requirements for auto-part uses. Unlike other research activities on pyrolysis across the world that mainly focus on energy recovery, this program focuses on cutting-edge sustainable materials. The experimental method is to fabricate novel biocomposites by combining biobased blend matrix systems with hierarchical (macro-micro-nano) reinforcement obtained from hybrid reinforcements of torrefied biomass (through low temperature pyrolysis) in conjunction with nano- and micro-biocarbon (obtained through high temperature pyrolysis). The research will create long term competitive advantage enabling novel biocomposite uses in high volume industrial applications. The proposed research activities are timely, innovative and at the leading edge internationally. Research outcomes will contribute to fundamental knowledge discovery in the area of design and engineering of biocomposites that encompass biopolymer blends, compatibilization and additive use for durability, green surface modifications, processing technologies, molecular structure and functional performance. This cross-disciplinary program will develop HQP by stimulating team-based creative solutions to well-defined technical obstacles. Through working with industry to understand scale-up and other real world requirements, HQP will improve their fundamental knowledge in order to be future leaders on the leading edge of industrial use of advanced biocomposite science.