NADES4CNF: energy-efficient production methods for nanocellulose

This project develops a new, sustainable method to make Cellulose Nano Fibrils (CNF), strong fibres from cellulose with applications in food, medicine and animal feed.

In brief:

  • CNF are strong, ultrafine fibres with many applications, but now cost a lot of energy to make.
  • By treating cellulose fibres with NADES, a safe liquid, less energy is needed.
  • The process is done in one step and immediately makes the fibres suitable for specific applications.
  • The method is cheaper, more environmentally friendly and safe for use in food, medicine and animal feed.

Output:

  • An efficient and affordable way to produce CNF.
  • Strong, versatile fibres with reduced energy consumption and costs.

Contact

hannes.sels@kdg.be

  • Funding: PWO
  • Research centre Sustainable Industries
  • Research duration: 1 January 2021 - 31 December 2021
  • Partners: Agfa Labs, BioGem Research Group (UAntwerpen), Millvision, Nuscience, SAPPI, TANC (UHasselt)

Cellulose Nano Fibrils (CNF) can be produced from cellulose. CNF can only be produced mechanically by delamination of the macromolecular fibre structure. CNF possess exceptional material properties and can therefore be used in numerous applications.

The bottleneck is the high energy consumption of the production process. Through enzymatic or chemical pre-treatment, energy consumption can be drastically reduced, but this requires expensive and/or toxic products. This project investigates the use of NADES to swell cellulose fibres, reducing the energy required for mechanical treatment. A model is established based on experimental data to allow targeted composition of NADES according to the application. After selecting suitable NADES using this model, CNF will be produced based on some cellulose samples provided by the project partners. The CNF will then be modified in the NADES medium during mechanical CNF production. A one-step production method for CNF is the result.

This method has four major advantages:

  • Greatly reduced energy consumption.
  • Only one process step through in situ modification.
  • Applications in pharma, food and feed through the use of the non-toxic NADES.
  • Low cost through the use of low-cost raw materials for the NADES and low energy requirements.

Researchers

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You can collaborate with our research centre Sustainable Industries on topics such as:

  • Greening chemical processes and reusing waste streams.
  • AI-based tools developed in-house, to optimise your processes and products.
  • Developing alternative propulsion systems, alternative fuel systems, and emission measurements of internal combustion engines.
  • Vehicle data analyses using simulations and reverse engineering on CAN bus systems.

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