Researchers from the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) have adapted a plastination technique in order to improve the properties of biocomposites and make them stronger.
Dr Abbas Milani, UBCO Professor of Mechanical Engineering explained that “With the innovation of new materials and green composites, it is easy to overlook materials like bamboo and other natural fibres”, which are being applied in several industries, such as clothing, automotives, packaging, and construction.
Dr Milani’s team has now found a way to strengthen these fibres while making them even more environmentally friendly.
“Bamboo has nearly the same strength as a mild steel while exhibiting more flexibility”, says Milani, the founding director of the Materials and Manufacturing Research Institute. “With its low weight, cost and abundant availability, bamboo is a material that has great promise but until now had one big drawback”.
With over 30-million tonnes produced annually, bamboo is one of the world’s most harvested and used natural fibres. However, moisture uptake and weathering can cause the fibres to degrade and weaken over time.
The research team has used plastination to dehydrate the bamboo, and then use it as a reinforcement with other fibres and materials. By doing so, they cure it into a new high-performance hybrid biocomposite.
Plastination was first developed by Gunther von Hagens in 1977, and has been used for the long-term preservation of animal, human, and fungal remains. The technique ensures durability of the composite material for both short- and long-term use, says Daanvir Dhir, the report’s co-author and recent UBC Okanagan graduate.
“The plastinated-bamboo composite was mixed with glass and polymer fibres to create a material that is lighter and yet more durable than comparable composites”, says Dhir. He added that this new durable hybrid bamboo/woven glass fibre/polypropylene composite, treated with the plastination technique has a promising future.
The research, which has been supported by industrial partner NetZero Enterprises, has shown that adding only a small amount of plastinated materials to the bamboo can increase the impact absorption capacity of the composite, without losing its elastic properties. This also lowers the material’s degradation rate.
As plastination is time consuming, more work needs to be done on the optimization of this process. Additionally, future studies are underway to investigate the effect of plastinating other natural fibres, such as flax and hemp.
In order to have a better picture of the corresponding trade-off between the environmental footprint and mechanical durability effects, the researchers suggest a life cycle analysis of the materials should be conducted under different applications and compared to non-plastinated samples.
