Bioproducts

Skip to: Bio & Nanocomposites, Sensors, Structural Health Monitoring,
Electronic Textiles, Building Products, Cement & Concrete

Bio and Nanocomposites

Faculty: Witold Brostow, Nandika D'Souza, and Althea Arnold (Polymerization and characterization)

Brostow will work with the monomers produced by the green chemist and biotechnologist to convert into polymers compatible with process technologies. They will interface with the manufacturing hire and the biomechanic design engineer to examine the viability of materials for construction (Arnold) or feed directly into industrial applications (SBIR and GOALI based efforts). Monomers will be used with his tissue scaffold and polymer concrete international collaborations with Mexico. The purification of industrial water by removal of suspensions through use of biopolymer polysaccharides which cause the solid suspended particles to fall fast to the bottom of the container will also utilize the polymers. D'Souza will focus on the biocomposites efforts bringing both the plant fiber product to work synergistically with the green chemistry effort. The materials will be investigated for high impact applications (building and automotive composites), engineered through interfacing with the biomechanics design engineer (new hire) and manufactured in partnership with the manufacturing engineer (new hire).  Disclosures of new properties based on UNT developed chemistries will be immediately filed with UNT Technology Transfer.

Advanced engineered biocomposites are a declared focus area for the US Forest Products Group (2006 and beyond). The development of wood-based and fiber-based biocomposites for structural and functional applications are projected to maximize the sustainability of forest resources. Wood products based on particleboard, while endemic to construction, has led to much concern of volatile emissions and an increase in asthma related disease in the developed world. Bio-based resins together with wood and lignocelluloses biofibers such as available at UNT have been a significant research focus.

Lower cost, greater adaptability and reliability, lower maintenance, multifunctional smart materials are needed. A key area where Dr. Arnold will interface with the new manufacturing and design engineer will be to meet the US Forest group declared mission to  "develop new processing technologies that minimize (1) environmental life cycle costs (resource use, energy use, emissions) associated with producing and using composites in various end uses and (2) economic costs of production and use so that new and improved composites are competitive with materials they replace and compatible with the changing raw material sources. Advanced composite technologies will provide the means to engineer and produce biocomposite materials with enhanced physical and structural performance characteristics using virtually any bio-based material or mixture of bio-based or synthetic materials as constituent materials. Advanced composites will further enhance our ability to meet global needs for improved performance and value-added user products that promote long-term resource sustainability."

 

Sensors

This section is under construction.

 

Structural Health Monitoring

"Self sensing biocomposites for structural health monitoring – replacing fiberglass"

 

Electronic Textiles

This section is under construction.

 

Building Products

Visit the building applications page.

 

Cement & Concrete

Visit the concrete applications page.