USDA Forest Products Lab to Cut Ribbon July 25 on New Nanocellulose Production Facility
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On July 25, the USDA Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new pilot-scale production facilities for renewable forest-based nanomaterials in Madison, Wis., USA. The event will also feature tours of the FPL and a symposium on forest-based nanotechnology/nanomaterials.
The new FPL pilot plant will help serve as a gateway to a market for new wood-derived renewable materials that has been estimated to be worth up to $600 billion in sales by 2020. The U.S. and other nations will see numerous benefits from the commercialization of wood-derived cellulosic nanomaterials as new products are developed and used in commercially important end-use applications. This will result in the creation of many new high-paying jobs, enable production of new generations of lightweight/high performance products that will reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and increase manufacturing in many rural areas.
The pilot scale facility is aimed at aiding the commercialization of cellulosic nanomaterials by providing researchers and early adopters with working quantities of forest-based nanomaterials. The facility is capable of producing approximately 30 lb. per day or more of forest-based nanomaterials. The USDA Forest Service has invested $2 million in these new facilities and has invested more than $30 million in other research over the past five years to support the underlying science and technology needed to move commercialization of forest-based nanomaterials forward.
Forest-based nanomaterials have many desirable characteristics, according to FPL. They can be as strong or stronger than many current high performance petroleum-based synthetic fibers and promise high-strength components with low weight—attributes that have attracted the interest of the military as well as companies in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, consumer products, and medical device industries. Forest-based nanomaterials also have applications as barriers in packaging and as coatings to enable printed electronics and inexpensive sensors. In support of this area of new industrial collaboration, several of the preceding industries will be participating in the ribbon cutting ceremony, including the Forest Products Industry's Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance
For more information, contact Ted Wegner or Jane Kohlman.
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