Cellulose-based Composites: From Tunicates to Timber Professor Steve Eichhorn ACCIS/NCC Conference 21 st November 2019
2 Talk Overview • What is cellulose? • Where does it come from? • Natural fibre composites • Nanocellulose • Project case studies • Back to Timber • Future perspectives Anselme Payen (1795 – 1871) Died on 13 th May, 1871
3 My History with Cellulose and Aviation Mainly made from wood Leading edge – poplar plywood Nose ribs – marine grade plywood Wing spar cap strips and tail ribs - spruce Me Pete Eichhorn – built a VJ23 (Volmer Jensen design) from scratch and flew it for many years
4 What is cellulose and where from? Chlorophyll 6CO 2 + 6H 2 O C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6O 2 The most important equation on the planet! Trafficking of the cellulose synthase complex in developing xylem vessels Bicton Gardens, April 2018 (Spring!) Raymond Wightman, Simon Turner Biochemical Society Transactions, 2010, 38 755-760.
5 Natural Fibres Flax Cotton Bluebell tunicate Wood Jute Nettle (Ramie) Eichhornia crassipes Hemp Kenaf
6 Natural Fibre Composites George Washington Carver Mercedes A-200 using flax (1860s – 1943) reinforced panels Hemcrete – hemp fibre lime Henry Ford and the hemp/Soybean for insulation oil composite materials
7 Nanocellulose Density (g cm -3 ) Material Modulus (GPa) Specific modulus (GPa g -1 cm 3 ) 86 Cellulose (crystal) 1.6 137 Cellulose (fibril) ~1.5 39-65 ~26-43 Cellulose (fibre)* ~1.5 Flax: 27.6 ~18-85 Jute: 26.5 Ramie: 61.4 – 128(!) 26 Steel 7.8 200 Wood (pine) 0.5 9-16 (parallel to 18-32 grain) What if you were able to extract the crystalline properties of cellulose?
8 Nanocellulose H 2 SO 4 Native cellulose Cellulose Nanocrystals (microfibrilar) Bacterial Cellulose Wood Cotton Tunicin Tunicate cellulose nanocrystals 8
9 Nanocellulose Properties 35000 1.5% 30000 Intensity (Arbitrary Units) 25000 20000 15000 0% 10000 5000 0 1025 1050 1075 1100 1125 1150 -1 ) Raman Wavenumber (cm 0.00 -0.25 -1 /%) Slope = - 2.4 cm 2 = 0.94 -1 ) R -0.50 Raman Band Shift (cm -0.75 -1.00 -1.25 -1.50 -1.75 -2.00 -2.25 -2.50 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 Strain (%) Modulus values of Modulus of a single nano-whisker of tunicate 150.7 ± 28.8 GPa (unmodified) cellulose is found to be 143 GPa by this 145.2 ± 31.3 GPa (TEMPO oxidated) Calculation. Expected high stiffness – potential exploitation Iwamoto, S.; Kai, W. H.; Isogai, A.; Strength values: Wood: 1.6 – 3 GPa; Tunicate : 3 – 6 GPa Sturcova, A., Davies, G.R., Eichhorn, S.J. Iwata, T. Biomacromolecules 2009 , 2005. Biomacromolecules , 6 , 1055-1061. Saito et al. Biomacromolecules 14 (2013) 248−253 10 , 2571-2576.
10 Taking Waste from Paper Mill Sludge Adu, C., Berglund, L., Oksman, K., Eichhorn, S.J., Jolly, M., Zhu, C. 2018. Journal of Cleaner Production , 197 765-771. Chenchen Zhu Cynthia Adu (Bristol) (Cranfield)
11 Cellulose Nanofibre Composites • FiberLean is a form “ microfibrillated cellulose” (MFC) produced by mechanical disintegration of pulp. • MFC is formed by interconnected and entangled flexible cellulose fibrils of different length and thickness which forms a complex networked morphology. • MFC is naturally hydrophilic and incompatible with polyolefins Tannic acid Caterina Palange Tannic acid modified MFC + resin (natural extract from plants) (Fiberlean/UoB) EngD within the IDC in Composites Manufacturing 200µm Palange, C., Johns, M.A., Scurr, D.J., Confocal image of PPPE/Fiberlean Phipps, J.S., Eichhorn, S.J. 2019. Polarised light micrograph of Fiberlean Cellulose - in press
12 The Future – what is sustainable? Sustainable development is development that meets the • Non- renewable needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs (Bruntland 1987) Oil Coal Natural Gas “The fact is that we live in a world that has been profoundly shaped by empire and its disparities. Differentials of power between and within nations are probably greater today than they have ever been. These • differentials are, in turn, closely related to carbon Renewable emissions. The distribution of power in the world lies at the core of the climate crisis” Timber Plants Wool Ghosh “The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable. Chicago, IL. University of Chicago Press. • Replenishable Water Soil Air http://www.uq.edu.au/research/impact/stories/indigenous-opportunity-sprouts-from-desert- discovery/ Solomon Islands Flooding in India
13 Acknowledgements Many thanks to the EPSRC and Royal Society for funding of the research. Cynthia Adu (Cranfield) Caterina Palange (Fiberlean/UoB)
Thankyou for listening! Email.s.j.eichhorn@bristol.ac.uk
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