Natural fibres | reinforcements

Natural fibres
aim to compete

Whatever their environmental benefits, thermoplastic

compounds incorporating natural fibres and fillers are Producers of natural fibres and
unlikely to succeed unless they can compete head-on
with more traditional compounds. That is a reality that compounds are striving to deliver
is recognised by many of the major players in the sector
and a great deal of development work is underway with performance that can match
the aim of meeting the goals of cost and performance
competitiveness. This article takes a look at some of the
traditional plastics. Peter Mapleston
most recent initiatives. finds out more about that work
A. Schulman is one of a growing number of major
compounders involved in the development of compounds
containing natural fibres. The company has a range of claimed to offer the highest loading to date), treated and Main image:
compounds in its AgriPlas product line, which was coated wood chips, and even shredded US bank notes; Wheat straw is
developed from a consortium of companies and academ- material is dried and then treated for better perfor- one of a
ia initially funded from the Ontario Bio Council. Target mance, enabling it to withstand the higher melt temper- number of
markets and applications for the products include atures of polymers such as ABS. Soy meal also looks natural fibres
automotive, industrial, consumer goods, recreation, lawn like an attractive option and Schulman has developed under exami-
and garden, furniture, and packaging. To date, the most an additive technology to exfoliate the soy meal during nation as a
high-profile application for AgriPlas is the Ford Flex third compounding. potential
row compartment bin, which has been in production for In a development related to its work on soy meal- bio-based filler
several years using a compound based on wheat straw based compounds, Schulman has worked closely with for plastics
reinforcement. There is also a smaller commercial Biobent Polymers, a start-up concentrating solely on
application for production of flower box containers, says bio-composites. Biobent Polymers was created to
Product Manager Paul Hardy, who admits volumes at commercialise compounds based on a novel biocom-
present are modest but says that could change soon. posite polymer developed by Battelle Memorial Institute
Schulman continues to look at other natural fibres in a project funded by the Ohio Soybean Council and
and alternative renewable fillers for thermoplastics. United Soybean Board (a division of the US Department
Hardy cites oat hulls, rice hulls (the company has of Agriculture). Biobent Polymers has an exclusive
▲

developed a 70% rice hull filled LLDPE masterbatch worldwide licence for this technology.

www.compoundingworld.com March 2016 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 39

 reinforcements | Natural fibres

Right: Biobent The basis for the Battelle patents relates to protein
Polymer is crosslinking. “Once we determined the optimum
developing amount of protein-carbohydrates-cellulose in soy, we
bio-composites went looking for other bio-feedstocks that had similar
based on fillers properties,” says Biobent founder Keith Masavage. “To
produced from date we have successfully deployed our process using
soybeans using soy, agave, canola, and algae. Some feedstocks are
Batelle naturally very dark, such as canola and algae, so they
technology are not usable for light, translucent or coloured
bioplastics. But they are excellent for black plastics and
produce nearly jet black compounds, with no additional
colorant. All compounds have a bio-based content
ranging from 10%-40% or more, and are produced
using reactive extrusion,” he says.
“We discovered after working with Schulman for quite major distributors. Masavage says the company is
some time that they also required a ‘secret sauce’ for currently negotiating a strategic partnership with
their AgriPlas product. So, we tried it and it worked. It Schulman. “As the technology matures, Biobent will
turns out that for different reasons, their additive package develop a revenue stream through sub-licensing our
had most of the same ingredients as ours. We had been technology,” Masavage says, adding that potential licen-
using them all separately in the extrusion process, while sees are likely to include other compounders and
Schulman had masterbatched them into a single pellet. polymer manufacturers.
When we go to production, our plan is to have Schulman A ‘hybrid’ option is also under consideration for
produce a custom masterbatch bio-stabilizer pellet that non-licenced customers with volume requirements of
we can use in our production process. This will also be more than 10,000 tonnes/year that do not want to be in
key to sublicensing,” Masavage says. the compounding business. Here, Biobent would build a
Schulman continues to support Biobent customer production line at the customer’s manufacturing facility.
tests and trials and “has been a tremendously helpful “They would pay for all capital expenditures but we
resource,” according to Masavage. Biobent has also would provide the expertise and personnel,” Masavage
worked with several other major compounders, says. He calculates a production line investment of
including PolyOne and Ovation Polymers. around $2m would pay for itself in less than 18 months.
Masavage says Biobent has used toll facilities for Biobent’s original focus was on compounds based on
much of its development work to date. “A lot of our polypropylene. Since 2012, however, it has adapted its
capacity and most of our trials were actually done at process to work with other polyolefins and also various
equipment manufacturers’ facilities like Steer America, plastics made from renewable resources. It is also
Below: NFM and Berstorff,” he says. “We have qualified two toll expanding the technology to work with styrenics and
Biobent’s compounders who have a capacity of over 20m pounds/ PVC. “We convert the customer’s current base resin into
soybean filled year (around 9000 tonnes) available, but the economics a bio-composite that is essentially a drop-in replace-
bio-composites are not affordable for profitable production. We will have ment,” Masavage says.
are readily a 20-25m pounds/year capacity online by Oct 2016.” Masavage is clear that modern bioplastic and
coloured Biobent plans to sell its bio-composites through bio-composite materials must be competitive with
current available traditional plastics. “Henry Ford had a
soy-based bumper on a car in 1930,” he notes. “Yet 86
years later bioplastics hold less than a 1% market
share. The reasons are simple: today’s bioplastics
(Biobent excluded) have poor performance and they
cost 50%-100% more than their petroleum-based
equivalent. The pent-up demand for bioplastics is huge,
but the vast majority of manufacturers will not switch if
mechanical or operational performance is compro-
mised or if it costs more.”
Processing of bio-feedstocks is the primary reason
that bioplastics are expensive, he says. “Whether you’re
milling meals, feeding microbes oils (PHA), processing

40 compounding world | March 2016 www.compoundingworld.com

 mm
co
D aily
i p .
i h

s
t t e d
v

ion
e a
t o

w
c r

u
ea te valu e

e
ur el
at
r
o
for
ou

cu
r

sto
mer
s : close relationship and knowledge sharing
to find out the best mixing solution and equipment. Customised machines and targeted
advice for various industries and applications. A dedicated team to follow you in after-sales service,
technical matters and spare parts. Be a satisfied customer. Choose Plasmec.

Spare parts Onsite and Customer Maintenance

and revamping tele service training programs

PLAS MEC S.R.L. Mixing Technologies

Via Europa, 79 - 21015 Lonate Pozzolo (VA) - Italy - Tel. +39.0331.301648 - comm@plasmec.it

PVC DRY BLEND, POWDER COATINGS, MASTERBATCH AND PIGMENTS, THERMOPLASTIC RUBBERS, WOOD PLASTIC COMPOSITES AND MORE…
 reinforcements | Natural fibres

Right: Shives starches (PLA) or fermenting sugarcane (PE), bio-feed-

produced stock processing is critically important.”
from the Biobent claims that its bio-feedstocks are not just
woody stalks fillers. “Our core technology is based on our ability to
of flax plants crosslink the bio-feedstock to the polymer chain. By
are being doing so, we ‘inherit’ the vast majority of the base
evaluated as resin’s mechanical properties. We’re not trying to make
a potential a better plastic but simply a bioplastic that does not
plastics compromise performance. By replacing 30%-40% of a
filler petroleum-based thermoplastic resin with a bio-feed-
stock costing as little as 10% of the polymer that it is
replacing, Biobent is able to offer our customers
savings that range from 2%-18%, or even more.”
Masavage says more than 150 major consumer
product manufacturers have already made contact with
Biobent, including some Fortune 100 companies. “We
are currently actively engaged in specific projects with
approximately 15 of these market leaders,” he says. nology at the IWNiRZ (Institute of Natural fibres and
“Together, these projects represent an annual volume Medicinal Plants) in Poznań, Poland, has been re-
in excess of 100m pounds (45,000 tonnes). Biobent searching the performance of PP compounds contain-
expects to grow from under 5,000 pounds in 2014 to ing lignocellulosic flax and hemp shives. In particular,
more than 600,000,000 pounds in 2019.” the work has focused on improving compatibility of the
Echoing Masavage’s argument on costs is Marek natural filler with the polymer.
Radwański at Polish fibre producer Ekotex. Costs are Bujnowicz says the distribution of the natural filler
particularly critical for producers of bio-composites and and the interaction between it and the matrix polymer is
their suppliers, since the supply of the feedstock is more the most important factor influencing the mechanical
variable than it is with more industrial products such as performance of the compound. The hydrophilic nature
glass. Users also have to compete with other organisa- of the lignocellulosic filler and the non-polar character-
tions looking to explore “green” sourcing chains. istics of the PP makes compounding difficult. In
“Nowadays, there is very high request for flax fibres addition, the large size and porosity of the natural filler
for textiles,” says Radwański, who adds that prices of particles means they tend to act a defects in the
the fibres have, as a result, increased sharply. “There- composite structure.
fore, we postponed our research on flax fibres for The research looked at the effect of using maleic
compounding, but we did not stop our R&D activity. Now anhydride grafted PP as a coupling agent in PP
we are looking for applications for flax shives. I hope to compounds containing 20 and 30% flax and hemp
Below: A replace wood flour used for some WPC using our flax shives. Compounding was carried out on a Leistritz twin
modular shives,” he says. screw extruder, with test specimens injection moulded.
bio-feedstock Shives are the wooden parts of the flax stalk created Interfacial adhesion between the matrix and filler was
processing and as waste from flax fibre production. Krzysztof Bujnow- assessed by measurement of tensile strength. Bujnow-
compounding icz, Head of the Flammability Laboratory in the icz says it was shown that the coupling agent effectively
line by Biobent Department of Innovative Biomaterials and Nanotech- improves adhesion between the polymer and the filler, a
finding confirmed by scanning electron microscopy
images of the interface.
In October last year PolyOne unveiled new colour
and extrusion options within its reSound NF Natural
Fibre Reinforced Composites portfolio. Holger Kroni-
mus, VP Europe and General Manager at PolyOne
Specialty Engineered Materials, says the new options
were developed “to offer non-automotive customers the
flexibility and aesthetics they need while maintaining
performance and ease of processing.” Colours include
beige, copper, terra cotta, green, blue and black hues.
The extrusion grades, meanwhile, are intended to

42 compounding world | March 2016 www.compoundingworld.com

 reinforcements | Natural fibres

Right: SEM
images of PP/
hemp shive
composite with
a maleic
anhydride
grafted PP
coupling agent
Source: IWNiRZ

expand the use of reSound in building and construction, compared with short glass fibre compounds, PolyOne
sports and leisure, and furniture manufacturing. says. “It seems the limitation in the on-line re-introduc-
The coloured compounds were developed as part of tion of reground PP-SGF into the manufacturing
the Divergent Desires collection for PolyOne’s InVisiO process does not apply to reSound NF material, which
colour and design service. PolyOne says they “explore offers a potential ‘no scrap’ process for manufacturers,”
the convergence of technology and nature,” helping according to Jason Eckel, Global Marketing Director,
manufacturers achieve their often-conflicting desire for Specialty Engineered Materials at the company.
lighter weight parts that still deliver good performance. Polymer compounder, So.F.Ter, says its Polifor NF
Formulations are designed to limit the impact of the product line, which is based on polypropylene reinforced
pigments on mechanical properties. with natural fibres, “offers sustainability, lightness and
PolyOne says that, compared to other natural fibre improved performance for a wide range of industries,
reinforced solutions, reSound NF materials offer from automotive to design.” So.F.Ter uses various
mechanical property improvements of more than 20% bio-based fillers in its compounds. These are sourced
for tensile and flexural properties, 10°C to 20°C higher from FSC or PEFC certified cultivation, which So.F.Ter
heat deflection temperature, and an increase of more notes “adopt responsible management systems which
than 50% in impact strength. According to the company, have no negative impact on the environment, territory
independent testing has shown that reSound NF and local communities.” The compounds offer the same
formulations offer equivalent performance to short rigidity as polypropylene compounds with an equivalent
glass fibre reinforced alternative, at a 5-10% lower percentage of talc but are much lighter because of
density. Compounds are compatible with physical and lower density (-8%), provide better resistance to high
chemical foaming processes. temperatures (+ 17%) and offer a significantly higher
Recycling tests show very stable performance impact resistance (up to + 67% in the notched Izod test).
The company is eyeing the automotive industry in
Right: Poly- particular. It says possible applications include interior
One’s reSound and exterior parts, both structural and aesthetic.
NF natural Examples include cowl vent grilles, internal consoles
fibre com- and pillars, structural dashboard carriers and various
pounds can parts of the luggage compartment. With their ability to
now be withstand operating temperatures up to 110-120°C, the
supplied in compounds can also be used for under-the-hood
black and applications such as the air filter box.
coloured It is not just crops grown on land that are being
versions considered for use in plastics compounds. Algae
technology company Algix has partnered with the
University of Georgia and Kimberly-Clark to commer-
cialise the cultivation of aquatic biomass as a feedstock
for bio-based plastics compounds. It uses mobile algae
harvesting platforms and downstream dewatering,
drying and jet milling operations to produce dry algae
biomass in free-flowing granules that are then com-

44 compounding world | March 2016 www.compoundingworld.com

 Natural fibres | reinforcements

pounded with thermoplastics. the project. WKI Fraunhofer develops wood-plastics

Ryan Hunt, CTO at Algix, says the company com- composite (WPC) formulations for various applications.
pounds the algae with different polymers together with Researchers in another Fraunhofer WKI project are
compatibilizing agents and other bio-based additives. It investigating chemical foaming of WPC for injection
is already offering Solaplast compounds based on moulding and profile extrusion, with the aim to develop a
biodegradable polyester resins such as NatureWorks’ novel type of beehive as a substitute for the current types
PLA and BASF’s Ecoflex PBAT, and also on fossil-based built using timber or 100% expanded polystyrene. Each of
plastics (including polypropylene, polyethylene, EVA and these traditional materials has its advantages but also
polystyrene). All contain at least 40% algae. Properties some drawbacks - the foamed WPC is said to combine
are said to be suitable for a variety of end-use applica- advantages of both timber and polystyrene. In particular,
tions, including cosmetic containers, packaging, and it offers 3D design opportunities, good insulation, weight
horticultural/agricultural products, as well as film, reduction, durability, low maintenance, recyclability and
sheet and non-wovens. Currently, the two most employs sustainable raw materials. While the develop-
important applications are foreseen in extruded ment project is focused on beehives, the technology is
EVA-based foams for use in footwear, and PLA-based not limited to this application.
compounds for 3D printing. Solaplast compounds can
be used directly or as a masterbatch.
Algix has been producing compounds on a single
compounding line based on a 73-mm extruder at a
facility at Meridian, in Mississippi in the US. It is now in
the process of setting up a second operation in China,
which will become the company’s main production site
and will free up the Meridian equipment for more
development work. Hunt says the new joint venture
Algix Wuxi Technology Company is set to start com-
pounding in August. The company is located close to a
major source of algae that is growing in local lakes and
is currently being land-filled.
Belgian compounding company Beologic specialises
in the production of compounds based on natural fibres Fraunhofer WKI cooperates with the University of Above:
or mineral fillers. With an installed compounding Applied Sciences in Osnabruck, Naftex and Georg Utz. It Samples of
capacity of 20,000 tonnes/year split over 12 production has available a variety of equipment to develop and test Solaplast algae
lines, Beologic claims to be one of the most important WPCs according to the needs of the industry, says containing
suppliers in the sector. Project and Sales Manager Alex Schirp. A co-rotating extruder, equipped with an polymers from
Beyls says the company’s product portfolio contains underwater granulation system and optional air Algix
more than 600 formulations, all customised to customer granulation, can be used for formulation development.
requirements. He says Beologic can deliver compounds This equipment has been modified to accommodate
for almost all polymer processes, including 3D printing. processing of highly filled WPC formulations with
“Popular natural fibres are wood and rice due to difficult flow behaviour. Compounds can be further
their low price:property ratio, but we see an increase in processed using profile extrusion, injection moulding
demand for flax/hemp and cellulose to be used in more and hot-pressing.
technical applications,” he says. For applications where Another EU project looking into thermoplastic
aesthetics are particularly important, Beyls sees cork biocomposites is Naturtruck (www.naturtruck.eu) (see
and cotton fibres gaining popularity. Compounding World June 2015). Within this project,
Beologic is one of several partners in the European Aimplas, the institute of plastic materials in Spain, is
Union-sponsored HIVENT research project developing completely bio-based automotive parts in
(www.hifiventproject.eu), which has the aim of develop- collaboration with CTAG (Automotive Centre of Galicia in
ing durable, fire-resistant ventilated façades in WPC Spain), IWNiRZ, six SME’s from Europe and Turkey, and
that can be used in building retrofit. Results of the truck manufacturer Volvo. The aim of the project is to
project are due to be presented at the AMI Wood-Plastic develop thermoplastic biocomposites from polylactic
Composites 2016 conference in Vienna in early March by acid (PLA) and natural fibres with high heat and fire
Arne Schirp, Project Leader at the Fraunhofer Institute resistance to replace polymers such as ABS for interior
s

for Wood Research (WKI), which is another partner in parts used in truck cabins.

www.compoundingworld.com  March 2016 | compounding world 45

 reinforcements | Natural fibres

Right: An During the past year, IWNiRZ has developed a special

injection fibre treatment for hemp fibres. This involves the
moulded truck surface treatment of osmotic degummed fibres
foot rest combined with silanisation in the presence of two flame
produced as retardant additives and a plasma treatment. This
part of the modification results in a reduction of the
Naturtruck flammability of the hemp fibres by 40%
programme in measured by maximum heat release rate (HRR
PLA/hemp max). The treatment process was scaled up to 20kg of project demonstrators.
bio-composite treated fibres that were pelletized afterwards by Compounding equipment producer Steer
Aimplas and project partner, BaVe Badische Faservere- believes the day is not far away when jute will find its
delung, a specialist in the pelletizing of natural fibres way into the production of under-the-hood automobile
(BaVe is also involved in the HIFIVENT project). parts such as air intake manifolds, radiator end-caps,
Aimplas has continued the development of flame fans and shrouds, housing construction materials, and
and heat resistant PLA/hemp biocomposites using even microwavable cooking containers. Last November,
BaVe’s pelletized hemp fibres and ammonium it announced the development and availability of
polyphosphate flame retardant. In order to improve the technology to process jute-filled polypropylene
crystallization rate of the PLA (necessary to achieve the compounds that promises the ability to replace
required high heat deflection temperatures) and to minerals and fibres and help reduce product cost,
maintain the impact strength of the biocomposites, a density and carbon footprint, while improving product
combination of bioplasticizer, nucleating agent, and performance.
impact modifier additives were used. Speaking about the advance, Steer founder and
Miguel Angel Valera, Senior Polymeric Researcher Managing Director Babu Padmanabhan said company
at Aimplas, says that the biocomposites it developed scientists have developed jute-filled PP compounds
fulfilled the mechanical and HDT requirements of Volvo, incorporating up to 50% by weight of jute utilising its
showing Charpy impact strength values of 23kJ/m2 and co-rotating twin-screw platform technology with special
HDT(B) of 120°C after annealing. The annealing patented fractional-lobe elements. “The new material
treatment was carried out by heating the parts in a has formidable advantages – it is strong, flexible, and
continuous infrared oven for 90s and then leaving them heat-resistant, not to mention that it is also an
to crystallise at room temperature. The biocomposites economical, lighter and eco-friendly reinforcing agent
were also classified as HB according to the UL94 for plastics,” he says.
flammability standard. “There is a potential for a new sunrise industry to
CTAG finished and adapted the prototype moulds and emerge, creating thousands of jobs, especially in jute
Below: parts to be used in the interior of the cabin trucks for the rich resource states,” claims Padmanabhan. “Jute
Granules of Naturtruck biocomposites, and also optimised the polymers, if promoted aggressively by the government
PLA/hemp injection moulding process. The injectability of the and the industry, can have a ripple effect not only on the
biocomposite biocomposites was shown to be superior to commercial beleaguered jute sector, but the entire Indian economy
produced for ABS and ABS/PC blends currently used in the automotive by opening up a huge market opportunity for an
the NaturTruck sector, Valera says. Small series of two case studies, a industry that has historically been low on added value.”
project bracket and a foot rest, were injection moulded as India is one of the largest producers of jute in the world.

Click on the links for more information:

❙ www.aschulman.com
❙ www.biobent.com
❙ www.ekotex.pl
❙ www.iwnirz.pl
❙ www.polyone.com
❙ www.softergroup.com
❙ http://algix.com
❙ www.beologic.com
❙ www.fraunhofer.de
❙ www.aimplas.es
❙ www.steerworld.com

46 COMPOUNDING WORLD | March 2016 www.compoundingworld.com