We are a full service provider of custom formulations of biocomposite materials and technical support. We are at the forefront of

Transcription

1 We are a full service provider of custom formulations of biocomposite materials and technical support. We are at the forefront of environmentally-friendly plastic biocomposites and in providing solutions meeting our customers Green Initiatives.

2 2007 Founded by Sam McCord to initially provide Business Development, Sales and Marketing of Bioresin materials. Headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Mid 2010 plans for sales office TechWorks Key Partners - Dean Reck, Technical Sales Manager David Kelsen, Legal, IP and Business

3 We use proprietary formulations in partnership with our compounder, Interfacial Solutions, for a wide range of applications for agriculture and industrial products throughout North America. As a bridging technology between by-product cellulose fiber materials and pure plastic, MCG BioComposites products offers improved characteristics of both materials which could enable entirely new performance capabilities at a greener, and in some cases, at a lower cost.

4 Advent of new base raw materials of recycled post consumer/industrial plastics combined with organic natural fibers that up to now had no value added/sustainable use, has created a global market for a new classification of materials Bio Fiber or BioComposites. Fundamentally, these composites reduce Hydrocarbon content (oil) replaced with natural fillers in the form of organic renewable.

5 This family of materials is best suited to replace pure polymers, and drives the green, sustainable shift of achieving a balance of physical properties to produce the goods and components needed across the complete landscape. Any product that is injection molded, extruded, thermoformed or rotationally molded today, can be replaced with a natural organic filled Biocomposite material.

6 Examples of biomass materials are: Corn Switch grass Soy beans Kenaf Rice Oats Wheat Wood

7 Usage of Corn Cob as Reinforcement in Post- Industrial Recycled HDPE Mike Fuqua, Luke Gibbon, Dr. Venkata Chevali, & Dr. Chad Ulven Department of Mechanical Engineering North Dakota State University Fargo, ND Study completed for Sam McCord and Dean Reck MCG BioComposites, LLC

8 Biocomposite materials will emerge as an important engineering material as the technology evolves through strong collaboration by several facets of the entire production Research Vision Plastics Manufacturers University Researchers Farmers & Processors Commodity Groups

9 High volume of polymer production has heightened issues of post-service environmental effects Materials Generated in MSW Food 13% Woods and Textiles 12% Other 6% Paper 31% Plastic 12% Metal 8% Glass 5% Yard Trimmings 13% Amount of plastics in the municipal solid waste (MSW) produced by the US reached 30.0 million tons in 2008 [Source: US EPA]

10 Development and utilization of recycled plastics, both from post-industrial and post-consumer resources has been a strong solution Thermal cycling and purity issues put limitations on usage Important to develop means of economically stabilizing and potentially improving mechanical properties Functional fillers have proved a benefit

11 Corn Cob 101 Significant question currently is over the utilization of crop land to grow food versus crops for fuel and fiber Cob is a prevalent byproduct of corn harvest Does not require additional crop acreage or planning Corn cob varies throughout its crosssection, thus different properties can be yielded by selective choice Beeswing, pith and chaff are the most lightweight components Woody ring is the hardest part of the cob

12 Constituent Content Corn cob utilized comes from Best Cob, LLC (Independence, IA), who specialize in producing ground corn cob for various applications Two grades of corn cob examined, a -80 and a Dry Mass % Cellulose Hemicellulose Lignin Starch Ash Protein

13 HDPE HDPE attributes to approximately 5.4 million tons of MSW Common commodity virgin polymer Strong subset of industrial recycled regrind usage HDPE is an extremely hydrophobic polymer system Polarity mismatch with hydrophilic lignocellulosic fibers Poor surface interaction between matrix and organic filler can lead to underperforming material blends Examination of necessity for proper chemical compatibilizers and subsequent loadings essential to yielding optimal performance

14 Experimental Approach Examination of tensile, flexural, and impact performance of HDPE reinforced with 20 w/w corn cob fiber Differences in performance between virgin and postindustrial recycled HDPE Difference in performance due to corn cob constituent content Role proper chemical compatibilization plays

15 Thermal Degradation from Processing Natural fiber degrades at higher temperatures, weakening mechanical reinforcement abilities Temperatures <100 C, chemical bonds can begin to break Temperatures >200 C, degradation and depolymerization of various constituents occurs Temperatures >300 C, full depolymerization of cellulose occurs and cleavage of glycosidic linkages happens, causing severe fiber damage HDPE is capable of being processed at temperatures low enough to prevent extensive material degradation

16 Examples of injection molded parts

17 Oops! Screw & Barrel makes a difference.

18 Conclusions Through incorporation of lignocellulosic biomass fibers derived from corn cob, recycled HDPE properties can be better controlled and potentially improved to create a new class of environmentally friendly materials Higher cellulose content fiber provides greater improvements in both tensile performance, but little change in and flexural of impact Usage of a chemical compatibilizer such as MAPE supports significant improvements in tensile strength Developing this knowledge base allows tailoring properties for specific applications with interested companies

19 Products & Markets GLA Hybrid Pallet Replacing Wood Pallet

20 Products & Markets 14 billion pounds in the U.S. used by injection molding polymer market Injection molded plastics demand in U.S. est. 16 billion pounds 2010 total value of $14.7 billion in resin only Consumer - Agriculture - Industrial Toys - Lawn & Garden

21 Conclusion & Moving Forward TechWorks Biomass Campus Strategic Location Large customer base in the Midwest Close proximity to raw materials Anchored to TechWorks Campus