Despite the significant amount of research carried out in the field of wood-plastic compounds, these materials have not yet reached their full commercial and technical potential. BioStruct will help to overcome the obstacles to market success by developing the next material generation, so-called enhanced wood-plastic composites (eWPCs), for use in demanding, high-value technical applications.
Structure of the project:
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Material development: the aim is to develop new wood-based fibre systems to reinforce biopolymer composites, and to synthesise new bio-based matrix polymers. Advanced chemical modifications of wood and cellulose fibres will be carried out to increase their compatibility with polymers, and fibre-polymer interaction will be improved by surface modification and polymer/fibre functionalisation. The insertion of additional functionalities such as electrical conductivity or flame retardancy into the fibres will allow eWPCs to be used in technically demanding applications.
Process development: the aim is to develop innovative integrated compounding processes tailored to the new materials. These include inline chemical modification, the use of CO2, and specially developed process configurations allowing technology integration. Advanced processing technology for shaping eWPCs will also be developed, such as hybrid technology, local reinforcement, foaming and sandwich technologies.
Industrial implementation: new shaping processes will be developed to combine the new materials and processing technology, producing eWPC components tailored to the needs of companies in 4 industrial sectors: automotive, construction, electronics and packaging.
WP1 | Definition properties necessary for eWPC materials | Leader: Haidlmair |
WP2 | Wood fibre processing | Leader: VTT |
WP3 | Chemical modification of cellulose fibres | Leader: ICT |
WP4 | Bio-based matrix and compound systems | Leader: Henkel |
WP5 | Integrated compounding process development | Leader: ICT |
WP6 | Advanced eWPC moulding technologies | Leader: Aimplas |
WP7 | Application development and industrial case studies | Leader: Alento |
WP8 | Economic, ecological and health evaluation | Leader: NetComposites |
WP9 | Dissemination, exploitation and training | Leader: HCN |
WP10 | Project management | Leader: ICT |
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