SBIR-STTR Award

The goal of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to create cost-effective, sustainable, high performance nanocomposites for automotive and other industries. The automotive industry is currently using 2.7 billion pounds per year of sustainable polymeric composites with an estimated US market of $23 billion by 2017. The initial target is to replace heavy glass reinforcement in polymeric composites with cellulosic nanocrystals (CNCs) for car parts, providing lighter weight vehicles with increased fuel efficiency. CNCs are an abundant and renewable natural resource, with the feedstock provided by wood or waste from wood processing to make pulp, paper, and lumber. On-going research on the production of CNCs from various wood sources have resulted in significant reductions in cost (with more coming), making CNCs an increasingly attractive functional natural filler. Developing CNCs that can be scaled up to make larger parts at a commercially attractive price is a key objective in this research. Successful implementation of CNCs into composites could not only lighten vehicles and reduce environmental impact, but also transform a waste stream into high-value materials. This effort will address three previously encountered challenges with incorporating CNCs into polymeric thermoplastic composites, namely: (1) particle dispersion, (2) interfacial bonding, and (3) commercially viable processing methods for large-scale manufacturing for automotive and other industries. CNCs have more than twice the tensile strength of aramid fibers and a greater tensile strength and lower density than carbon fibers. Novel interfacial chemistries and processing paths will have to be developed in order to achieve proper interfacial bonding between CNCs and the polymer matrices, as well as dispersion of the CNC particles to allow the polymeric composite to realize the superior mechanical properties that CNCs can provide. The scalability and cost of the chemistries and processing will also be a primary consideration in this investigation.

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to commercialize high-strength thermoplastic composites reinforced with cellulosic nanoparticles (CNs) as a replacement for heavier glass?reinforced composite materials for structural automotive components. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to create sustainable, high?performance nanocomposites. Expected weight savings is between 13 and 20% per component. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations require significant increases in fuel economy for vehicles, which has led carmakers to look for innovative ways to shed vehicle weight. It has been shown that for every 10% in weight savings, vehicle fuel consumption is reduced by 7%. The target application is to replace heavy glass reinforcement in polymeric composites with CNCs for car parts, providing lighter weight vehicles with increased fuel efficiency. On?going research into CN materials has resulted in significant reductions in cost (with more reductions expected), making CNs an increasingly attractive functional natural nanofiller, the processing of which will provide jobs in both the manufacturing and the technology sector. Successful implementation of CNs into composites could not only lighten vehicles and reduce environmental impact, but also transform a waste stream into value-added materials, reducing the amount of waste produced by these industries. During the SBIR Phase I period, the company showed that lighter thermoplastic composites reinforced with cellulosic nanoparticles could meet the tensile strength values of glass-reinforced composites with much higher loadings, thereby saving part weight. The Phase II grant will allow the company to scale up the manufacturing processes necessary to produce these lighter, more sustainable composites for the automotive industry. Furthermore, the company will improve performance of these materials in order to attain performance parity with higher?loaded glass?reinforced parts and potentially to compete with ultra?high performance materials such as carbon fiber composites and metals. This technology will be produced using efficient and economical manufacturing processes, allowing this to become a true drop?in technology for automotive part-makers.