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Mechanical treatment to produce NFC and / or CNC (ITENE, ES)
PL13
valmas
DESCRIPTION UPGRADE & MODIFICATION PLAN
DESCRIPTION

In the PL13, the production of nanocellulose (NCFs) is being carried out through a mechanical disintegration of cellulosic fibers supplied by other BIOMAC PLs.


The original disintegration process was a discontinuous process in which full operator intervention was required, making the process slow and tedious.

pilot lines templates image
pilot lines templates image
UPGRADE & MODIFICATION PLAN

During the first months of implementation of the BIOMAC project, the disintegration equipment of the PL13 has been upgraded by designing and manufacturing a cellulose recirculation system which is used during cellulose disintegration. This new recirculation system allows the continuous production of nanocellulose, increasing production capacity and reducing processing times by 50%. This modification can be seen in the attached pictures. This modification has increased the production capacity to 30-40 kg of NFC at 2% consistency.


On the other hand, the optimisation of the nanocellulose modification processes by acetylation has been carried out. These modifications have been made it possible to use the nanocelluloses produced as reinforcements in PLA matrices, improving the compatibility between the reinforcements and the matrix.


Finally, the production of cellulose nanocrystals using acid hydrolysis process has been optimised based on the cellulose used as raw material. In addition, cellulose nanocrystals have been also modified to confer hydrophobic properties for inks applications.