{"id":126488,"date":"2023-05-10T07:23:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T05:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=126488"},"modified":"2023-05-05T10:34:12","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T08:34:12","slug":"green-composite-material-made-from-flax-and-chitosan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/green-composite-material-made-from-flax-and-chitosan\/","title":{"rendered":"Green composite material made from flax and chitosan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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BioMat at the ITKE\/ University of Stuttgart, Masih Imani<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Composite materials provide stability in aircraft parts, sports equipment, and everyday household items. However, most of these materials have a poor carbon footprint and are not naturally degradable. A more sustainable alternative has been developed by a team from the University of Stuttgart led by Dr. Linus Stegbauer from the Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology (IGVP). This completely bio-based composite material is made of flax fibers and the biopolymer chitosan. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the name suggests, composites consist of at least two starting materials combined in such a way that the end product has certain properties (e.g., it is both light and strong). Many conventional composite materials contain fossil-based polymers. Recycling such composites is complicated and energy-intensive \u2013 if even possible at all \u2013 and degrades the properties of the material. That\u2019s why most composites end up in landfills or incineration plants after use, thereby causing additional CO2<\/sub> emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renewable components <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In order to be able to offer more environmentally friendly products, the composites industry needs alternatives to fossil materials. The challenge is to find the right balance between economical production, excellent material properties, and sustainability. Biocomposites made from natural components that are biodegradable, non-toxic, and renewable \u2013 and thus have a low carbon footprint \u2013 offer one possible solution. Such a material has now been developed by researchers from the Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology (IGVP)<\/a>, the Institute of Aircraft Engineering (IFB)<\/a>, and the Institute of Computer Architecture and Computer Engineering (ITI)<\/a>. The team has successfully produced chitosan\u2013flax biocomposites. These materials consist of flax fibers, which act as a reinforcing element, and the biopolymer chitosan, which is derived from chitin and holds the flax fibers together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some respects with better properties than fossil counterparts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have conducted extensive studies to test and optimize the manufacturing process in order to achieve mechanical properties in line with those of fossil-based composites,\u201d explains Dr. Linus Stegbauer<\/strong>, who initiated the research together with Dr. Stefan Carosella from the IFB. Among other things, the researchers found that chitosan with a shorter polymer chain length is best suited for impregnating the flax fibers. This minimizes the porosity of the composites. The chitosan\u2013flax composite is not only naturally degradable and made exclusively from CO2<\/sub>-neutral raw materials but also has greater stiffness in terms of density and thus greater lightweight construction potential than composites containing epoxy resin.<\/p>

\u201cThis gives our bio-based material a competitive advantage. For example, when it comes to reducing fuel consumption in automotive construction,\u201d says Stegbauer<\/strong>. According to the study, the chitosan\u2013flax composite could also replace conventional materials in construction, sports equipment, and cargo crates.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Original article<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Amrita Rath, et al.: Fabrication of chitosan-flax composites with differing molecular weights and its effect on mechanical properties, Composites Science and Technology, Volume 235, 2023,\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.compscitech.2023.109952<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Linus Stegbauer
University of Stuttgart, Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology (IGVP)
phone: +49 711 685-63191
email: linus.stegbauer@igvp.uni-stuttgart.de<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Composite materials provide stability in aircraft parts, sports equipment, and everyday household items. However, most of these materials have a poor carbon footprint and are not naturally degradable. A more sustainable alternative has been developed by a team from the University of Stuttgart led by Dr. Linus Stegbauer from the Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"From furniture to auto parts to skateboards: An environmentally friendly chitosan\u2013flax composite developed by researchers at the University of Stuttgart could replace fossil-based structural materi-als in many areas","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[11270,5838,15082,11785,22093,11323],"supplier":[781],"class_list":["post-126488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-biodegradability","tag-bioeconomy","tag-chitosan","tag-composites","tag-flax","tag-naturalfibers","supplier-universitaet-stuttgart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126488\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126488"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=126488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}