Valuing cellulose filaments in innovative, sustainable, and renewable bioproducts

纤维素细丝（CF）是一种新的生物材料，由加拿大发现的一种创新工艺产生，使用木浆而无需进一步使用化学品或酶，几乎完全由可再生能源提供动力。CF用途广泛，有可能增加许多产品的强度、耐久性和功能，但并非所有这些都已被研究过。该项目旨在开发CF在农业生物产品、抗菌纸巾和混凝土产品添加剂中的新应用，同时限制其对环境的影响，以提供具有竞争力的低碳足迹产品。CF可以作为可再生和可持续的农业投入物，如微型蔬菜基质、可生物降解的花盆和地膜，用于当地的粮食生产，有助于加拿大的粮食安全和粮食自给自足的增长。CF的高比表面有望增加抗菌和抗病毒药物的保留率，并改善用于医疗保健和卫生产品（包括口罩）的纸巾的抗菌功能。将研究抗菌天然生物聚合物或其配合物在CF上的接枝。该项目开发的抗菌技术预计将为克鲁格的一系列纸制品提供有效和负担得起的解决方案，以满足对医疗保健和卫生产品日益增长的长期需求。在施工中，CF可以帮助满足基础设施系统的可持续性和弹性要求，为工程水泥基产品提供更高的耐久性和卓越的机械性能。由于混凝土是一种高碳足迹产品，添加CF的高耐久性可以从整体上减少建筑活动的碳足迹。还将对所有CF生物产品进行生命周期评估，以确定其潜在的环境影响，并继续改进这些过程。总的来说，研究成果将使纸浆、纸张和CF制造工艺适应特定目的，并使新的CF生物产品技术转让给市场，同时促进加拿大森林工业的多样性，并促进未来更清洁的技术。

Cellulose filaments (CF) are a new biomaterial generated by an innovative process discovered in Canada using wood pulp without further use of chemicals or enzymes and powered almost entirely by renewable energy. CF are versatile and have the potential to increase the strength, durability, and functionalities of many products, not all of which have been studied. This project aims to develop new applications for CF in agricultural bioproducts, antimicrobial tissue papers, and additives for concrete products while limiting their environmental impacts to provide competitive products with a lower carbon footprint. CF can be used as renewable and sustainable agricultural inputs such as microgreens substrate, biodegradable pots, and mulch films for local food production, contributing to food security and the growth of food self-sufficiency in Canada. The high specific surface of CF is expected to increase the retention of antibacterial and antiviral agents and improve the antimicrobial functionality of tissue papers for healthcare and hygienic products including masks. The grafting of antimicrobial natural biopolymer or complexes thereof on the CF will be studied. The antimicrobial technologies developed in the project are expected to provide effective and affordable solutions for a range of paper products of Kruger to meet the growing and long-term demand for healthcare and hygienic products. In construction, CF can help meet sustainability and resilience requirements in infrastructure systems, providing engineering cement-based products with improved durability and superior mechanical performance. As concrete is a high-carbon footprint product, high durability by adding CF can help reduce the carbon footprint of construction activities as a whole. Life cycle assessments of all CF bioproducts will also be carried out to identify their potential environmental impacts and to proceed with the improvement of these processes. Overall, research outcomes will allow the adaptation of pulp and paper and CF manufacturing processes for specific purposes and the technology transfer of new CF bioproducts to the market, while contributing to the diversity of the Canadian forest industry and promoting cleaner technologies for the future.