CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTAL (CNC)
DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES IN
ALBERTA
NOVEMBER 18, 2016
1
OUTLINE
● Who is Alberta Innovates? Who is InnoTech Alberta?
● Alberta’s forest sector
● What are Cellulose NanoCrystals (CNC)?
● CNC efforts in Alberta
● improving production processes
● developing applications
2
ALBERTA INNOVATES’ FAMILY
● Crown corporation of the Government of Alberta
● drives research priorities & accelerates innovation to diversify and
expand the economy
● develops sector strategies, funds projects & coordinates activities
●
●
●
●
subsidiary of Alberta Innovates
conducts applied research & development to commercialization
500+ scientists, technologists and business experts
1,000,000 ft2 of facilities, labs, technology
3
ALBERTA FORESTRY – COMMERCIAL CONTEXT
● Alberta’s forest sector
● vast & sustainable timber
supplies
● mandatory reforestation
● 3rd largest manufacturing
sector – pulp, lumber,
engineered wood
● competitive challenges – slow
growing fibre, distance to tide
water, US housing collapse
4
ALBERTA PULP SECTOR – CONTEXT
● 7 pulp mills
● 4 chemical and 3 mechanical mills
● printing & writing papers, tissue,
personal care & hygiene products
● we help them reduce costs & diversify markets
● ‘green’ energy – self-sufficient facilities
● improve products to maintain markets
● pursue new products and markets to diversify
● seeking high value market demand
5
OPTIONS FOR DIVERSIFICATION
● currently no “home run” opportunities for forest sector
diversification, but there appear to be a number of singles
● a diversified business model is the future
● produce pulp and…
● bioenergy, biochemicals, biofuels, biopolymers, other
Carbon-based products – non-traditional markets
● better value from wastes and residues
● are nanocelluloses an answer?
● cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) & cellulose nanofibrils (CNF)
6
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF WOOD
Lignin (27%)
Extractives,
Resin, etc. (4%)
Cellulose
(41%)
Hemicellulose (28%)
7
NANOCELLULOSE SOURCE
Lignin,
Hemicellulose
Cellulose
nanocrystal
Cellulose
nanofibril
8
CNC PROCESS USING ACID HYDROLYSIS
amorphous area
crystalline area
Acid hydrolysis
64% H2SO4
45°C
90-120 min
nanocrystal
Acid treatment breaks amorphous ‘chains’ to isolate
cellulose nanocrystals. InnoTech Alberta’s process uses
H2SO4
9
CNC VS. CNF - CHARACTERISTICS
● They are very similar in some ways…
● nano scale celluloses
● renewable, biodegradable, biocompatible, recyclable
● high surface area
● low density
● low thermal expansion
● excellent mechanical properties
● opportunities for surface modification (-OH groups)
10
CNC VS. CNF CHARACTERISTICS
● but different in other ways
CNC
CNF
Rigid – crystalline rod shaped particles
Flexible – crystalline & amorphous
5-70nm height, 100-300nm length
5-100nm height, micrometre length
High crystallinity (>80%)
Low crystallinity (<70%)
Self assembly
No self assembly
Low water binding capacity
High water binding capacity
Low degree of polymerization (<300)
High degree of polymerization (200-1000)
Gels at high consistency (8-10%wt)
Gels at low consistency (1-2%wt)
Forms stable suspension in water (1-3%)
11
SPECIFIC CNC CHARACTERISTICS
● virtually non-toxic, odourless & flavourless
● low application rate required
● high strength & modulus
● hydrophilic
● insoluble in most solvents
● lightweight
● optical transparency
12
STEM IMAGES OF CNC
100 nm
Courtesy of Yaman Boluk
13
SAME MATERIAL – VARIOUS MORPHOLOGIES
100 nm
200 um
20 um
14
ALBERTA’S CNC PROGRAM
● What do we do really well?
● operate a pilot plant to improve the production and science;
● help industrial partner derisk commercial investment decision;
● provide CNC to application developers to create products;
● How?
 ongoing improvements to pilot plant – yield, quality and cost;
 strong scientific team – production and applications;
 creation of international standards & characterization; and
 active collaborator in application development portfolio
15
ALBERTA’S PILOT PLANT – A BRIDGE TO FUTURE?
Feedstock
Reactor
Packaging
Spray dryer
Centrifuge
Filtration
16
WHO DO WE WORK WITH ON CNC?
● researchers and industry partners on process improvements;
● governments, CNC producers and international researchers on
health, safety, characterization and testing standards;
● companies and researchers on application developments;
● this is now our focus
● always seeking new partners – let’s build CNC market
● NDAs to protect privacy, open approach to IP ownership
● provide CNC samples and technical support
17
VALUABLE & ACTIVE COLLABORATIONS
●
numerous individual companies pursuing proprietary
applications in many fields with various research partners
● optio & printable electronics;
● advanced materials - biocomposites & biopolymers;
● health care and medical devices;
● coatings & corrosion inhibitors;
● rheological modifiers;
● energy sector fluids and lubricants;
● waste water treatment
18
LOOKING FORWARD – WHAT ARE WE DOING NOW?
●
improve CNC quality and yield
● need high quality for health applications, maybe not so for
other uses
●
continue to reduce production costs
● allows access to new markets
● on track to below $10/kg by 2017
●
create market pull
● find new partners and collaborators – develop market ready
applications
● justify commercial production investment
19
どうもありがとうございました
Gordon Giles
[email protected]
20