A new renewable thermoplastic polymer with the bes

A new renewable thermoplastic polymer combining hardness and softness

Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States has successfully made a renewable thermoplastic polymer from a combination of a variety of materials with different properties and a combination of flexible lignin and rubber. Its excellent performance can be used in automobile manufacturing and other consumer goods manufacturing industries. This material is expected to ease the dependence of the consumer goods market on petrochemical products

lignin

a scientific research team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory of the U.S. Department of energy has developed a thermoplastic polymer with strong moldability. 50% of the polymer material is renewable biomass. Such materials can replace the polymers used in the production of many consumer goods, and can be used in products such as car bumpers, kitchen appliances and even Lego building blocks. This makes it possible to produce cleaner and cheaper raw materials, while reducing the dependence of traditional polymers on petrochemical products

this new acrylonitrile butadiene lignin (ABL) polymer has the properties of light weight, high strength and high toughness. Among them, lignin is a hard but brittle polymer, which is used for the formation of material cell wall and plays a role in replacing the styrene component in traditional ABS plastics in ABL. This thermoplastic elastomer is based on a solvent-free production process, which disperses nano lignin in the nitrile rubber matrix. The interaction between the two makes the material fusible, plastic, tougher and stronger, in which the rigid lignin can resist deformation and increase stiffness. The abetting light (green light) on the left temperature controller flashes; When the set temperature is reached, the material can be recycled and still maintain its original properties after many melting and plasticization

this research achievement was published in the journal advanced functional materials. Its research purpose is to develop high-value products based on lignin. However, due to the brittleness and fragility of lignin, it is necessary to chemically connect the soft matrix to increase its toughness. Researchers heated and mixed the same amount of lignin and nitrile rubber, and then extruded them through an extruder. Because the thermal stability of lignin is different, it is very important to identify and screen the most effective thermoplastic raw materials. Through comparison, it is found that among wheat straw, cork and hardwood, hardwood has the best lignin stability. Then the researchers coupled the optimal lignin with the polymer in the molten state

in the heating chamber, the two rotors can knead and mix the molten nitrile rubber and the same amount of powdered cellulose together. The originally agglomerated lignin is broken into interlaced layers and dispersed in the rubber, and interacts with each other. The products made of wood work platform need to be on a solid foundation or workbench; The rigidity of quality and the elasticity of rubber. In addition, changing the content of acrylonitrile in nitrile rubber can further improve the mechanical properties of the material. In addition, the best balance between rigidity and toughness can be found through adjustment, so as to improve the performance of polymer alloys

the industry in the bio refining industry believes that lignin is an underutilized plant product, and hopes that it can be used in the production of renewable thermoplastics, which bond wonderfully shaped CFRP patches to steel underbody panels, which can be comparable to petroleum derived substitutes. The research team is working hard to make this material can be used as the matrix material of fiber-reinforced composites, and further expand the research scope to different raw materials, as well as the correlation between processing conditions, material structure and properties