timouse Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 from the Globe and Mail... FIVE QUESTIONS: PROFESSOR MOHINI SAINCars made of plants? It ain't sci-fiBy MICHAEL VAUGHANThursday, January 5, 2006 Page G2Professor Mohini Sain in the University of Toronto's Faculty of Forestry creates biocomposites from processed plant fibres. In five years, he says, he would not be surprised to see these types of materials making up 20 to 25 per cent of a car.Sain treats stalks of hemp, flax, wheat and corn with chemicals to break down the bonds that hold clumps of fibres together. The plant material is then combined with synthetic plastics.However, if it is mixed with plastics made from soy beans or pulp and paper sludge, then it can create tough biocomposites that are completely biodegradable.Using a combination of heat and pressure, the material is compressed into a variety of shapes that can be as strong as steel.Sain is the director of the Centre for Biocomposites and Biomaterials Processing at U of T. He is a chemical engineer by profession who received his doctorate degree in chemical engineering in 1989.He has worked in industry and academia for more than 20 years, holds several patents and has published more than 300 papers in journals.Vaughan: The only wood-based material I can think of in my car is a cardboard box in the trunk. What are you trying to make with natural fibres?Sain: I am trying to make door panels, bumpers, console, dashboard, underbody panel, load floor, running board, head liner and many more components for cars, including interior and exterior applications.In some cases, I am working on putting these lightweight new materials into parts where currently engineered plastics, metals and glass fibre-reinforced composites are used.The ultimate goal is to get an economic solution with an environmentally sustainable alternative for transportation, construction, building, furniture, electronic and medical devices applications.When I put natural fibre in, I take out glass fibre and synthetic plastics. It reduces the consumption of crude oil.Vaughan: Are there reasons besides reduced consumption of oil that makes bio-based parts better than glass fibre and synthetic plastics in automotive applications?Sain: Biogenesis of natural fibre takes less energy for production compared to that of synthetic fibre (such as glass); the same is true for synthetic plastics.As natural fibre replaces synthetic plastics, it consumes less energy for production. It also results in less emission of greenhouse gas.Finally, natural fibre products biodegrade more rapidly than synthetic parts; hence they have less potential environmental waste disposal issues.Natural fibre composites with thermoplastics are recyclable, too.Vaughan: Does it matter what natural fibre you start with? In other words, is there something particular about wood as opposed to straw or potatoes?Sain: Both agricultural and wood fibres have potential; but the type of fibre source does matter depending on the application.Wood fibre is shorter and their application is limited to injection, extrusion, blow moulding, and palletized compression moulding.On the other hand, long fibre can be obtained from agricultural fibres such as hemp, flax, wheat and kenaf.These fibres are excellent for press moulding, resin transfer moulding, BMC and SMC applications. They can be combined both with thermoplastics as well as thermoset.It is expected that these fibres will provide stronger materials compared to that of the short fibres and, hence, these make them good for structural materials (an underbody panel for example).Vaughan: Are you changing these fibres at the molecular level? Is this a nanotechnology play?Sain: We have an active nanotechnology research program where scientists in our group are attempting to design the fibres that particular applications need.For example, a program has been initiated to develop fibre than has less lignin bonding between cellulose bundles.In another very exciting area of nanotechnology, we are working on developing commercially viable technology to obtain nano-cellulose fibres from wood fibre, agro-fibre and root fibres (such as rutabaga).We have already demonstrated the excellent performance of these fibres when they are added in a plastic as reinforcement.We are working toward developing a continuous process to make such nano-fibre and then develop bio-nanocomposites by processing them in conventional plastic processing equipment.Vaughan: Apart from expanding knowledge, what's in it for the university to be developing this technology? Are there any patents or royalties for the university?Sain: Yes, we have several U.S. and Canadian patent applications pending in diverse areas and have more than seven disclosures in these areas. The university has a share of each of these innovations.But more importantly, we train people with cutting-edge technology.These trained graduate students, engineers and other associates will provide the needed expertise this rapidly growing industry needs. Our PhDs and post-docs give our country the needed lead in this global academic training field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Boy 2.0 Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 this is awesome, thanks for posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Evil_Mouse Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 - nice to know people are working on this kind of thing on a daily basis. I'm reminded of the M*A*S*H episode where Klinger commits himself to eating a Jeep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothedShredder Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Ford has been using "biodigradeable" parts for years... that's why they always break down... atleast this is more like the Matrix... where the Architect designs it to acknowledge the flaws... it takes Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance to the next level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 I know of a company based in Thailand that makes disposable plates/cutlery/bags/etc out of tapioca. The products are fully biodegradable.The company that I am working for is an extremely large multi-national, and I work with a guy who is trying to convert all of our locations into using these products instead of plastic. I hope it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 What's wrong with a bread bowl? Tapioca's shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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