Studying the dispersion of graphene for novel nanocomposite materials

敏感流体（液体、油、乳液、气体）在地下和结构内的安全运输依赖于压力管道，通常由工程聚乙烯合金和复合材料制成。这种类型的管道受到政府的严格监管，因为当它们太快失效时会对我们的社区和环境造成严重破坏。 现行的建筑用压力管道标准为PE100，其设计应力容限为8 MPa，使用寿命为50年。为了实现更强、更持久的管道（PE 125）的下一个飞跃，单独的聚合物结构不太可能满足应力容限要求，因此，研究人员正在寻找有效的填料，以满足合适的聚合物复合材料的成本和强度标准。石墨烯是一种新的纳米填料，旨在导电和增强应用，但它通常过于昂贵，无法考虑用于电子等高价值产品之外的任何产品，并且很难有效地混合到粘性聚合物中。Universal Matter Inc（UMI）拥有一种即将商业化的新石墨烯产品，他们认为该产品克服了这种纳米填料的成本和混合挑战，并将使其成为适用于PE 125管道的聚合物等级。拟议的研究将使用工业上最受欢迎的双螺杆挤出机熔融配混方法来研究石墨烯产品在聚乙烯中的分散性，以制造适用于PE 125管道的聚合物等级。随着树脂的成功生产，我们将比较这种石墨烯在不同疏水性的其他聚合物中的分散性，以更好地了解在复合过程中发生的分散机制。 理想情况下，UMI计划在2022年开始建设的新生产设施中包括一个熔融复合部门，项目成果将推动他们对该部门规模和范围的决策。

The safe transport of sensitive fluids (liquids, oils, emulsions, gases) underground and within structures, relies upon pressure piping, normally made from engineered polyethylene alloys and composites. This type of piping is strongly regulated by governments due to the substantial disruptions caused to our communities and our environment when they fail too quickly. The current standard for pressure pipe in construction is designated PE100 which featuring a designed stress tolerance of 8 MPa and has a service life of 50 years. To make the next leap to stronger, longer lasting piping (PE125), it is unlikely that polymer structure alone will satisfy the stress tolerance requirements and so, researchers are seeking efficient fillers that will meet the cost and strengthen criteria of a suitable polymer composite. Graphene is a new nanosized filler aimed at conductivity and reinforcement applications but it is generally far too expensive to be considered for anything beyond high-value products like electronics and quite difficult to effectively mix into viscous polymers. Universal Matter Inc (UMI) has a new graphene product on the verge of being commercialized which they believe overcomes both cost and mixing challenges for this nanofiller and would make the jump possible to a polymer grade suitable for PE125 piping. The proposed research will examine the dispersability of their graphene product into polyethylene using industrially favoured melt compounding methods with a twin-screw extruder to make suitable polymer grade for PE125 piping. With a successful resin produced, we will compare the dispersability of this graphene in other polymers of differing hydrophobility to better understand the mechanism of dispersion taking place in the compounding process. Ideally, UMI plans to include a melt compounding division in a new production facility that they will begin to build in 2022 and the project outcomes will drive their decisions on the size and scope of the division.