reinforcements | Natural fibres
Right: Shives produced from the
woody stalks of flax plants are being
evaluated as a potential plastics filler
starches (PLA) or fermenting sugarcane (PE), bio-feed- stock processing is critically important.” Biobent claims that its bio-feedstocks are not just
fillers. “Our core technology is based on our ability to crosslink the bio-feedstock to the polymer chain. By doing so, we ‘inherit’ the vast majority of the base resin’s mechanical properties. We’re not trying to make a better plastic but simply a bioplastic that does not compromise performance. By replacing 30%-40% of a petroleum-based thermoplastic resin with a bio-feed- stock costing as little as 10% of the polymer that it is replacing, Biobent is able to offer our customers savings that range from 2%-18%, or even more.” Masavage says more than 150 major consumer
product manufacturers have already made contact with Biobent, including some Fortune 100 companies. “We are currently actively engaged in specific projects with approximately 15 of these market leaders,” he says. “Together, these projects represent an annual volume in excess of 100m pounds (45,000 tonnes). Biobent expects to grow from under 5,000 pounds in 2014 to more than 600,000,000 pounds in 2019.” Echoing Masavage’s argument on costs is Marek nski at Polish fibre producer Ekotex. Costs are
Radwa´
particularly critical for producers of bio-composites and their suppliers, since the supply of the feedstock is more variable than it is with more industrial products such as glass. Users also have to compete with other organisa- tions looking to explore “green” sourcing chains. “Nowadays, there is very high request for flax fibres for textiles,” says Radwa´
nski, who adds that prices of
Below: A modular bio-feedstock processing and compounding line by Biobent
the fibres have, as a result, increased sharply. “There- fore, we postponed our research on flax fibres for compounding, but we did not stop our R&D activity. Now we are looking for applications for flax shives. I hope to replace wood flour used for some WPC using our flax shives,” he says. Shives are the wooden parts of the flax stalk created
as waste from flax fibre production. Krzysztof Bujnow- icz, Head of the Flammability Laboratory in the Department of Innovative Biomaterials and Nanotech-
nology at the IWNiRZ (Institute of Natural fibres and Medicinal Plants) in Pozna´
n, Poland, has been re-
searching the performance of PP compounds contain- ing lignocellulosic flax and hemp shives. In particular, the work has focused on improving compatibility of the natural filler with the polymer. Bujnowicz says the distribution of the natural filler and the interaction between it and the matrix polymer is the most important factor influencing the mechanical performance of the compound. The hydrophilic nature of the lignocellulosic filler and the non-polar character- istics of the PP makes compounding difficult. In addition, the large size and porosity of the natural filler particles means they tend to act a defects in the composite structure. The research looked at the effect of using maleic anhydride grafted PP as a coupling agent in PP compounds containing 20 and 30% flax and hemp shives. Compounding was carried out on a Leistritz twin screw extruder, with test specimens injection moulded. Interfacial adhesion between the matrix and filler was assessed by measurement of tensile strength. Bujnow- icz says it was shown that the coupling agent effectively improves adhesion between the polymer and the filler, a finding confirmed by scanning electron microscopy images of the interface. In October last year PolyOne unveiled new colour
and extrusion options within its reSound NF Natural Fibre Reinforced Composites portfolio. Holger Kroni- mus, VP Europe and General Manager at PolyOne Specialty Engineered Materials, says the new options were developed “to offer non-automotive customers the flexibility and aesthetics they need while maintaining performance and ease of processing.” Colours include beige, copper, terra cotta, green, blue and black hues. The extrusion grades, meanwhile, are intended to
42 COMPOUNDING WORLD | March 2016
www.compoundingworld.com
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