I-Corps: Toward commercializing cellulose fiber-reinforced polymer composites

该I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是将一种可持续和环境友好的具有增强效益的上级复合材料的制造方法商业化。这项新技术可以彻底改变复合材料行业，特别是依赖这些材料的制造业，如建筑，建筑，汽车和飞机。在生产复合材料中更多地使用木纤维也可以通过提供木浆的重要新用途来促进造纸工业，因为从纸中提取的纤维素纤维是该项目产品的原材料。由于纤维素（或木材）是可再生的，并且基于农产品，因此复合材料在使用寿命后会生物降解，而不会对环境造成危害。该项目将影响美国复合材料市场的需求，预计到2019年将达到100亿美元以上，复合年增长率约为7%，并为项目参与者提供培训，帮助他们把新技术转化为可供市场使用的产品。我-Corps项目致力于开发新的环保和可持续材料的长期目标，通过创建高性能聚合物复合材料，由天然纤维增强，具有上级负载，轴承性能该项目涉及一种新技术，使用天然纤维素（或木材）纤维来增强塑料材料。在称为单体的聚合物构建块的直接转化中使用纤维素（或木纤维）允许制造商消除熔融阶段，该阶段是材料成型时，然后固化成各种产品。新的加工技术包括将通常在纸中的木纤维放入模具中，然后注入用于制造聚合物的“反应”混合物。该工艺在较低的相对温度下进行，从而使纤维具有其固有的结构完整性以及机械强度和刚度。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is commercialization of a method of making superior composites with enhanced benefits that are sustainable and environmentally friendly. The new technology could revolutionize the composite industry, especially manufacturing sectors that rely on these materials, such as building, construction, automobiles, and aircraft. Greater use of wood fibers in producing composites also could be a boost to the paper industry by providing an important new use for wood pulp, since cellulose fiber extracted from paper is a raw material for the product of this project. Because the cellulose (or wood) is renewable and based on agricultural products, the composite materials would biodegrade after their service life without harming the environment. The project will impact the demand in the U.S. composites market that is projected to reach over $10 billion by 2019, at a compound annual growth rate of about seven percent, and provide training to the project participants in the process of converting the new technology into a market-ready product.This I-Corps project addresses a long lasting goal of developing new environmentally friendly and sustainable materials by creating high-performance polymer composites reinforced by natural fibers with superior load-bearing properties. The project involves a new technology that uses natural cellulose (or wood) fibers to reinforce plastic materials. Using cellulose (or wood fibers) in the direct conversion of the polymer building blocks called monomers allows manufacturers to eliminate the melting stage, which is when the materials are shaped, then later solidified into various products. The new processing technology involves taking the wood fibers, usually within paper, and placing them in a mold, then injecting a "reaction" mixture used to make the polymers. The process is down a low relative temperature thus leaving the fibers with their intrinsic structural integrity and mechanical strength and stiffness.