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Natural Material Sources for Composite Materials: Benefits, Components, and Outlook

This workshop explores the use of natural materials as sources for composite materials, including fibers, resins, and plasticizers. It discusses the environmental benefits, performance advantages, and current UK situation. The workshop also looks at agricultural sources such as flax, hemp, and miscanthus.

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Natural Material Sources for Composite Materials: Benefits, Components, and Outlook

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  1. Natural Material Sources For Composite Materials Dr Ian Law, NNFCC The National Non-Food Crops Centre, Science Park York YO10 5DG +44 (0) 1904435182 Life Cycle Assessment for Composites Workshop, Plymouth April 7th 2005,

  2. Natural Material Sources For Composite Materials • Why Use Them? • Which Components? • Agricultural Sources • Current UK Situation • Outlook

  3. Why Use Them? • Environmental Benefits • Non-petroleum, renewable resource • CO2 Neutral (?) • (Potentially) Compostable • Energy recovery • Performance • Strength, weight, flexibility • Inherent properties • Handling/processing advantages

  4. Which Components? • Fibres • Replace glass fibres, polyesters, etc • Resins • Replace epoxides and polyurethanes • Replace plastics with PLA, rPE • Plasticers / protectants • Replace phthalates, etc

  5. Agricultural Sources • Fibres • Specific Crops or waste straw • Flax, hemp, nettle, miscanthus, kenaf • Lignocellulose (wheat straw) • Resins • (mostly) oleo-chemical-based • Plastics (PLA, PE) • Plasticers / protectants • Oleo-chemicals and anti-oxidants

  6. Examples of UK Non-Food Crops Crop Area (ha) Product Cost (£/tonne)* OSR 82,000 Oil 145 Linseed 32,000 Oil 170 Flax Nil? Fibre N/a Hemp 2800 Fibre/Oil 110 Crambe 4000 Oil 150 Borage 1800 Oil/Chems 1500 Echium ~100 Oil/Chems 3500 SRC** 2000 Energy 30 - 40 Miscanthus*** 3000 Energy/Fibre 25 * Cost of seed (not SRC and Miscanthus) ** Short rotation coppice willow *** Miscanthus (Elephant Grass) can also be used as a premium horse bedding £100/tonne

  7. Fibre Crops Hemp A Fibre-only or a Fibre/Oil Dual crop

  8. Fibre Crops Hemp As a Fibre Crop: 3m – 4m tall Spring sown Rapidly maturing 6 – 7 Tonnes / Ha Requires virtually no pesticides or herbicides No subsidy under single farm payment scheme

  9. Fibre Crops Hemp As a Dual Crop: 1.5 - 2m tall Spring sown Rapidly maturing 1.5 T / Ha straw 1.25T/Ha seed (£350/T contract)

  10. Fibre Crops Miscanthus Perennial: primarily an energy crop Takes 3 - 5 years to reach maturity Financial aid for establishment costs

  11. Fibre Crops Miscanthus Estimated lifetime: 15 – 20 years Weed control is critical for establishment Mature crop suppresses all weeds So far, no serious pathogens or pests in the UK Requires very little fertiliser inputs (1st year only) Leaf mould supplies mulch in subsequent years

  12. Processing Fibre Crops • Retting takes place in the field (August) • Crop is turned, baled, and delivered to processor • Mechanical processing separates bast fibres • from woody inner stem (hurds) • Long, medium and short fibres produced • Short fibres generally employed in non-textile • applications • “Fibre architecture” is important in composite • performance

  13. Processing Fibre Crops • Alternative retting processes under investigation (eg enzymatic) • Green de-cortication under investigation • Other de-cortication techniques being examined • Most developments are aimed at producing very high quality fibres at lower cost • Alternative uses for hurds (shiv) required!

  14. Crop Waste: Wheat Straw Products already developed and marketed in USA, Australia, China (DURRA Brand straw panels) The UK Exports technology for straw board manufacture (PU composites) 100 million tonnes of straw are produced annually in the UK

  15. Renewable Resins • Aiming for 100% renewable composites! • Replace PU and formaldehyde/epoxy resins • with plant-based alternatives • US led, eg in modified soya oils, but • also plenty of other examples. • Some oils contain required functionality: • others require chemical modification.

  16. Vegetable Oil Feedstock Pko Coc Pko Coc Coc Pal Rap Soy Sun Lin Pal Pean Rap Cra Stearic Oleic Linoleic Linolenic Fatty Acid Capric Myristic Erucic Caprylic Lauric Palmitic Arachidonic Lignoceric C8 C10 C12 C14 C16 C18 C20 C22 C24 C26 Biofuels Market Sectors Surfactants Lubricants Cosmetics Polymers Solvents

  17. (CH2)7COOH O CH3(CH2)4CH CHCH2 Readily-reacted fatty acids OH (CH2)6COOH CH3(CH2)5CHCH2 Ricinoleic Acid (Castor) Vernolic Acid (Veronia) Main sources can’t be grown in UK

  18. (CH2)11COOH (CH2)7COOH CH3(CH2)7 CH3(CH2)7 CH3CH2 CH2 CH2 CH2(CH2)6COOH Fatty Acids requiring further activation Oleic Acid (HO-rape) Alpha-Linolenic Acid (Linseed, hemp) Erucic Acid (HEAR, crambe)

  19. Vegetable oils that could be grown in the UK

  20. Chemical Modification of Fatty Acids • Amenable to a wide variety of catalysed chemical modifications • Increase value of common fatty acids by chemical modification • Epoxidation of Oleic Acid and Oleic Esters • Peracetic Acid (resin/acetic acid) • Enzyme (eg Novozym 435 immobilised Candida Antartica Lipase) • Molybdenum or Tungsten Catalysts, H2O2 • Highly active, selective and stable epoxidation catalyst systems required

  21. Present UK Situation • One UK processor & main contractor (Hemcore) • Current agricultural production meets processing • capacity (circa 2500 Ha per annum) • Most fibre product goes into German automotive • industry • Increasing interest in hemp growing • Market demand still growing • Considerable R&D expertise and interest

  22. The Future UK Situation? • Possibility of processing starting up in N. Ireland • Improved retting / de-cortication provides • high-value fibre • Continued interest in growing and processing • Possibility of wheat straw being utilised • Construction Industry coming onboard • Particle boards, insulation materials, etc • Prototype bio-composites scaled-up • Resins and plasticisers developed

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