October 18, 2009
Faster cars, compostable plastics, ultra-hard iridescent coatings: these are some of the potential uses of NanoCrystalline Cellulose (NCC), a new material developed from wood cellulose by researchers at FP Innovations, a non-profit forest industry research consortium based in Montr้al.
The arrival of NCC in everyday products isn't a distant, theoretical possibility, says Dr. Richard Berry, lead scientist and coordinator of the nanotechnology initiative at FP Innovations.
Design plans for the construction of a one-ton-a-day production facility have already been finalized by Vancouver-based NORAM Engineering. Three unnamed Canadian forestry companies have submitted proposals to host the federally funded facility on their sites, and the winner will be announced at the end of 2009 if negotiations go as planned, says Berry. The plant will go into production in about two years.
Although the concept of NCC has been around for decades and its source any kind of tree is abundant, Berry and his team have cracked the code in developing a process to produce large-scale quantities economically.
NCC has many unusual properties, in addition to having all the biodegradable attributes associated with its cellulose source. Materials scientists are in awe of NCC's extraordinary potential due to its strength, optical properties, conductivity, reactivity, self-assembling, anti-microbial, self-cleaning and bio-compatibility characteristics. "NCC is beautiful," says Orlando Rojas, chair of the American Chemical Society.
For non-scientists, the most significant properties are that NCC is stronger than steel, lighter than glass, and stable when mixed with other materials. Even small additions of NCC to composites can increase their strength dramatically. In toxicity tests conducted for Environment Canada, NCC was found to be environmentally benign and no more toxic than salt. NCC also has pleasing iridescent optical properties: materials can be made in various colours without the use of dyes and chemicals.
A wide range of industries automobile, aeronautic, packaging, construction and pharmaceutical could use NCC instead of petrochemicals in coatings and materials. "Because of that, we'd be able to displace the petroleum economy in a variety of ways," says Berry.
But it's hard-nosed economic imperatives, not just green goodwill, that are driving the battered forestry sector to pour millions into research for new products that may ensure its survival.
Over the past two years, the Canadian forestry sector lost 50,000 jobs and more than 250 mills closed or suspended operations, according to Avrim Lazar, CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada.
The sector has been bleeding red ink since 2006, says Craig Campbell, leader of the Canadian forestry group at PricewaterhouseCoopers. "It's been hard hit by the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Most of our lumber goes to the U.S. but housing starts were down 75% last winter. And newsprint is another key area: demand has been contracting every quarter since 9/11."
As a result, the forestry industry is looking to transform itself by switching its focus beyond tissue paper and two-by-fours to producing higher-value materials with advanced technology.
Other sectors are starting to recognize the enormous potential of NCC and other cellulose-based nano-materials. Phil Jones, Atlanta-based director of new ventures at mining company IMERYS Mineral Ltd., says, "Forest products will be the renewable, high-strength materials of the 21st century 'new carbon' not made millions of years ago that can be used in automobiles, building products and more."
Our future in cellulose
Potential customers such as IMERYS are watching developments closely. Jones says there are opportunities in the mining industry to make more effective use of marble, clay, and other minerals when they're married with NCC, instead of using more energy-intensive plastics and metals. "We're looking at a materials science revolution using NCC instead of oil-based materials to improve the rigidity of products," says Jones.
The automobile sector also has a keen interest, says Craig Crawford, CEO of the Ontario BioAuto Council, a Guelph-based non-profit. Formed in 2007, the organization represents auto parts makers from various sectors in the emerging bio-based supply chain, and includes major parts assemblers such as Ford and Chrysler.
"We're working with leading Ontario parts suppliers to identify areas where NCC might improve the performance of their products," says Crawford. The two key areas are in developing more durable coatings, and using NCC in composites instead of steel to increase fuel efficiency.
"If you look at Obama's 35-mile per gallon requirement for new cars, the only way you can do it is with a lightweight structure," says Berry. "If you just use plastics alone, they won't have the rigidity, stiffness, and strength needed. But it could be achieved with NCC as the reinforcing element."
NCC is not a bio-plastic itself, but is an additive that can be easily combined with other materials to strengthen and lighten them dramatically, he explains. But it can correct many of the deficiencies in the new bio-plastics (such as their tendency to deform under high heat) that DuPont and other companies have developed from corn and sugar cane.
Are there enough trees in the world to displace petrochemical-based materials with cellulose-based nano-materials? "Oh yes," says Berry. "They would not consume that much bio-mass. It's a renewable source, and we have a variety of ways to produce the cellulose needed from trees and other plant sources."
Escape from the valley of death
In the arcane halls of materials science, a race is afoot. Sweden, Japan and the U.S. are also pouring millions into cellulose research, but their focus is on energy-intensive mechanical processes that can theoretically produce higher yields of nano-materials, says the American Chemical Society's Rojas. None has yet developed a viable process for NCC.
Canada is unique in developing a low-energy chemical, rather than mechanical, process for large-scale production of NCC, he adds.
Berry says producing NCC doesn't require elaborate technology beyond an extra module added to existing pulp and paper processes, which do 98% of the work. "In terms of unit steps, there's not a lot to it. We take wood fibres that have been through the conventional pulping and bleaching process, grind up the pulp, put it through sulphuric acid hydrolysis, then separate and concentrate the crystallite from other elements."
Having conquered the science and start-up issues, Canadian researchers now have yet another mountain to climb. The real hurdles in developing NCC's potential lie in economics, and the complicated realm of working with other industries outside the familiar confines of the forestry sector to develop new industrial applications.
To facilitate cross-industry development, a new R&D network called ArboraNano was set up this year through Industry Canada's Business-led Centres of Excellence program. The initiative received $8.9 million in funding over four years, and is working with industry partners such as Bell Helicopter and Kruger, and scientists at McGill and other universities to develop and test new materials made with NCC for various industries.
Canada is doing a lot of things right, says Jones. "Supporting the application development side is the critical bit. People talk about the valley of death: university guys spin out ideas, and then industry has to commercialize them. But that part is enormously expensive, and the five-year payback is usually low. Anyone in industry doing this is punished by Wall Street."
Berry says the strategy for commercializing NCC over the next three to five years is to tackle low-hanging fruit first: penetrate the market for wood coatings, then extend the knowledge gained to coatings for other sectors such as automotive and aeronautical. Once this foothold in multiple industries is gained, researchers can tackle the more difficult task of incorporating NCC into primary structural components such as automobile chassis.
The FP Innovations team is starting its commercialization effort by tackling the Canadian market for hardwood flooring coatings (wood varnishes that use as little as 2% NCC perform much better than any current products), and Berry believes the new one-ton-a-day plant will probably produce enough NCC to supply the initial needs of the entire Canadian market.
Longer-term, the FP Innovations team is eyeing the lucrative market for outdoor coatings of bridges and other architectural structures that need to be painted frequently to prevent rust and wear. (Annual Canadian sales for coatings are about $2 billion, according to the Ottawa-based Canadian Paint and Coatings Association.) "Instead of painting outdoor structures every three to four years, with NCC you would only need to do it every 10 to 15 years," says Berry. "This a huge billion-dollar market potentially."
The ability to use small amounts of NCC for big effects is a major draw, says Crawford. "It means you're using resources effectively."
However, the biggest prize remains the auto industry and the outcome there is less certain. Many other requirements need to be satisfied in the sector's quest for alternatives to metals.
Says Crawford, "Reinforced plastics will need to compete with steel and aluminum on price and performance. Research will be needed to find out if NCC will give us the performance we're looking for, and if it can be integrated in advanced manufacturing processes where speed is of essence. If a part is made in 40 seconds, but it takes four minutes to blend the NCC with plastic and wait for it to jell, then it won't work."
To gain market acceptance for new formulations made with NCC, manufacturing, development, industrial and environmental testing will all need to coincide, says Berry. "We need to ensure the properties we're claiming are cost-effective relative to what the market is willing to bear. For example, people like the idea of bio-plastic, but they don't really want to pay much more than they are currently."
A 'very competitive situation'
The good news is there are long-term trends that may favour the development of alternatives. The price of oil continues to climb, and petroleum-based products will become more costly in the future.
Unlike the tar sands project in Alberta, where production is only economically attractive when oil prices reach highs of about $100 per barrel, NCC commercialization is economical based on current prices, says Berry. "We've been conservative in our analyses, and our assumptions are based on the current $60 or $70 per barrel of oil. If prices go up again and they're likely to then our margins will be even higher."
Many sensitive negotiations are currently underway, so Berry is unwilling to disclose more about NCC business development costs. "We have a leadership position at the moment, but it's a very competitive situation. International groups in the U.S. and Scandinavia are looking for information about this."
But he says the FP Innovations team has done its due diligence. "We've done the market analysis to understand the value we're providing, and we've identified how much the market is willing to pay for NCC. We now know what those price points are, and we're in a position where the margins are sufficient to support a commercial plant."
By Rosie Lombardi
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