SBIR Phase I: Thermal Insulation from Paper Mill Wastes

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是，有可能单独使用造纸厂的短纤维残留物（SFR）或加上越来越多的旧纸板箱（OCC）的纸浆，生产出优质的、具有成本效益的隔热材料。这将是消除每天在垃圾填埋场处理的数千吨造纸厂废物的重要一步。由于其优越的性能、安全性和环境效益，建筑商和改装商对纤维素绝缘材料的需求很大。这个项目可以扩大关于林产品使用的知识，并有助于提高隔热材料应用的能源效率和可持续性。这个第一阶段研究项目的技术目标是研究和证明将SFR（一种现在被丢弃在垃圾填埋场的纸板厂的废物副产品）与日益丰富的OCC纸浆结合起来生产优质纤维素绝缘材料的可行性，这种材料可以经济有效地用于建筑物绝缘并增强环境可持续性。这种制造工艺将阻燃化学物质直接嵌入绝缘材料的纤维素纤维中，从而消除了松散的粉末废物和空气中含有化学物质的灰尘造成的呼吸问题。该研究项目将利用SFR和OCC的各种混合物进行控制实验，以量化各种工艺因素与传统木结构应用以及越来越必要的金属建筑喷雾应用之间的关系。该项目的成功成果将促进一种产品的商业化，这种产品的性能优于竞争对手的保温产品，并且可以以极低的成本可持续地生产——通过将工业废物转化为优质的保温材料，从而改变整个保温行业。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is the potential to produce superior, cost effective thermal insulation using paper mill short fiber residuals (SFR) alone or in addition to pulp from increasingly available old cardboard cartons (OCC). This will be an important step in eliminating thousands of tons of paper mill wastes being disposed of in landfills each day. Cellulose insulation is in demand by builders and retrofitters because of its superior performance, safety, and environmental benefits. This project could expand knowledge on the use of forest products and directed towards energy efficiency and sustainability enhancements in insulation applications. The technical objectives of this Phase I research project are to research and prove the feasibility of combining SFR, a waste by-product from linerboard mills now being disposed of in landfills, with pulp from increasingly abundant OCC to produce a superior cellulose insulation that can be cost-effectively employed to insulate buildings and enhance environmental sustainaiblity. The manufacturing process embeds fire-retardant chemicals directly into the insulation's cellulose fibers thus eliminating loose powder-waste and respiratory problems from chemical-containing airborne dust. The research project will run controlled sets of experiments utilizing various blends of SFR and OCC in order to quantify relationships between various process factors and desired product characteristics for applications in traditional wooden structures as well as for spray-applications in increasingly necessary metal buildings. A successful outcome from this project will facilitate commercialization of a product that out-performs competing insulation products and that can be sustainably produced at dramatically lower costs - transforming the entire insulation industry by turning industrial wastes into superior thermal insulation.