{"id":20910,"date":"2014-06-12T03:03:19","date_gmt":"2014-06-12T01:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=20910"},"modified":"2014-06-11T07:20:48","modified_gmt":"2014-06-11T05:20:48","slug":"stronger-steel-fibre-spun-wood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/stronger-steel-fibre-spun-wood\/","title":{"rendered":"Stronger-than-steel fibre spun from wood"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Bildschirmfoto
Fredrik Lundell, researcher in fluid mechanics at KTH. (Photo: Peter Larsson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Researchers at KTH have developed a way to make biodegradable cellulose fibres that are stronger than steel or aluminium when weight is taken into account.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have taken out fibrils from natural cellulose fibres,\u201d Lundell says. \u201cThen we have assembled fibrils again into very strong filament. It is about 10 to 20 microns thick, much like a strand of hair.\u201d<\/p>\n

The research offers potential for creating natural clothing textiles based on wood instead of cotton, or even replacing fiberglass in cars, trucks and boats.<\/p>\n

Lundell says that that unlike existing processes for making strands of cellulose, such as rayon, their composition process is environmentally friendly and sustainable. The only other ingredient in the process is sodium chloride \u2013 commonly known as table salt \u2013 for binding the fibrils together.<\/p>\n

\"Tra\u0308
Cellulose fibre spun from fibrils.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe can control how the fibrils are arranged in the thread,\u201d Lundell says. \u201cIf they are aligned with the grain line, the material is stiff and strong. Are they not so aligned, this leads to a material that is more elastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundell says these variations mimic those that occur in nature. A tree is alternately rigid and flexible, in order to withstand the force of wind and its own weight. As trees grow, the fibril angles change in different parts of the trunk so the tree can handle any stress.<\/p>\n

The new technology promises not only biodegradable structural materials but soft natural textiles that could be substituted for cotton, which is widely believed to be close to reaching peak cultivation.<\/p>\n

\u201cCotton cultivation requires large amounts of water,\u201d Lundell says. \u201cTake for example the Aral Sea, which more or less disappeared as a result of the cultivation of cotton in Asia. If we are to have a 100 percent sustainable society then we need more materials that have a natural place in the natural cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundell adds that the work continues with aim of lining up fibrils so that alternatives to fiberglass can be produced.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur research may lead to a new construction material that can be used anywhere where you have components based on glass fibers, and there are quite a few places,\u201d he says. \u201cThe challenge we face now is to scale up the production process. We must be able to make long strands, many threads in parallel \u2013 and all this much faster than today. Nevertheless, we have demonstrated that we know how this should be done, so we’ve come a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says that by manipulating the nanostructure and adding other components such as carbon nano tubes in the thread, other applications become possible, such as clothing with embedded electronics.<\/p>\n

S\u00f6derberg says that by working with fibrils as the basic component, the technology retains the natural structure of cellulose. \u201cThat means that the material is 100 percent compatible with nature,\u201d he says. \u201cCows eat cellulose. Likewise, dead trees and plants are broken down by natural processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The work was mainly carried out at the Wallenberg Wood Science Center at KTH, but in cooperation with Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron elektronsynkrotronen (DESY) in Hamburg, Germany.<\/p>\n

S\u00f6derberg says that much of the current research progress comes as a result of interdisciplinary collaboration. In this case, the team within the Wallenberg Wood Science Center consisted of researchers in fluid physics and researchers in fibre and polymer technology, with Professor Lars W\u00e5gberg as the point person. Also involved is Stephan Roth at DESY in Hamburg. The availability of advanced measurement techniques in DESY\u2019s synchrotron light facility, and the Hamburg scientists\u2019 expertise has been crucial, S\u00f6derberg says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers at KTH have developed a way to make biodegradable cellulose fibres that are stronger than steel or aluminium when weight is taken into account. \u201cWe have taken out fibrils from natural cellulose fibres,\u201d Lundell says. \u201cThen we have assembled fibrils again into very strong filament. It is about 10 to 20 microns thick, much […]<\/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":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[],"supplier":[7241,6418],"class_list":["post-20910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","supplier-deutsches-elektronen-synchrotron-desy","supplier-kth-royal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20910","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=20910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20910\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20910"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=20910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}