Cellulose Filament (CF) Demonstration, Application Development and Commercialization Balázs Tolnai, Daniel Archambault, Richard Drolet, Nicolas Duplessis, Mathieu Harvey, Kruger Biomaterials Inc.
Kruger Inc. Founded in 1904 Privately-owned, forth-generation family company with 5,000 employees (Canada + USA) Joseph Kruger Gene H. Kruger Joseph II Kruger Sarah & Gene Kruger
What is Cellulose Filament? Kraft fibres are peeled into ~1,000 Cellulose Filaments Kraft fibers Cellulose Filaments Length: 100-2,000 μm Width: 30-500 nm Aspect ratio: 100-1000
Cellulose Filament project On Sep. 17, 2013 Strategic Alliance between FPInnovations and Kruger Biomaterials Inc. 3-year long, 43.1M$ project Project objectives: Design, construction and operation of a 5T/d CF plant Development of new CF applications Largest cellulosic biomaterial plant in the world
Partnership with FPInnovations Largest forest products research organization in the world with 525 specialized staff, 4 facilities across Canada with annual budget of about 80M$ Québec Continuous support: Scale up, Design, Construction Start up, Operation and QC/QA Application development Pointe-Claire Vancouver
Project Timeline 2013-Sep-17: 2014-Mar-31: 2014-Jun-05: 2014-Jul-10: 2015-Mar: 2017-Feb: Until today: Project start, plant design Plant built, start up, QA&QC 1 st batch of quality CF 1 st truckload shipment 5T/d production rate 24/7 operation, 17T/d 60+ industrial trials 4 R&D partnerships 50+ Collaboration Commercial paper products 7
Collaboration between Academia and Industry Focused application development Cement Cellulose Non-Woven Oil and gas Textile 4 R&D partnerships with Universities and industrial companies Composites Adhesives Filters Automotive Collaboration with over 50 clients under NDA Specialty Papers (non P&W) Foams Bioplastics Chemicals Electronics
Prioritized Applications Paper products Polymer composites Concrete and Mortars Paper Products Other potential applications: Adhesives & Sealants, Paints & Coatings, Cosmetics, Polymer Composites Concrete & Mortars
Pulp and Paper Application We have completed over 60 industrial scale trials We have developed: Reinforcement pulp grades Unique publication paper grades Specialty paper grades and Tissue products Several commercial grades
Multifunction additive Strengthening Light weighting Rheology modifier
Polymer Composite Applications 80 Density [g/cm3] Young's modulus [MPa] Chemical pre-treatment to produce dispersed dry CF Introduction of CF into various polymers with up to 40% CF dosage Improved physical properties Very low water uptake 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.8 LLDPE + Glass Fiber LLDPE + CF 0% 20% 40% CF content [%] Tensile stress (MPa) 60 40 20 0 1300 1100 900 700 500 400% improvement at 30% CF level 0 10 20 30 Wt% of CF LLDPE + CF LLDPE + Glass Fiber 300 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Density [g/cm3] 12
Flexural Strength at 28d (MPa) Concrete and Mortar Applications Acts as a rheology modifier Control 0.1% CF Improves physical properties (flexural, compressive, tensile) 8 7 6.7 0.1% CF Has comparable mechanical and durability properties to steel and synthetic fiber 6 5 4 3 2 1 3.4 4.0 5.0 0 Control 0.10% CF 0.15% CF 0.2% CF
Conclusion Dedicated team for new business Adaptive manufacturing with strict quality control Competitive intelligence, understand the product Product differentiation, value propositions Effective technical sales process with technical partnering Focused product and application development, partnership between industry and academia Market visibility, consistent message Capability to balance protecting and sharing IP
Acknowledgement FPInnovations Government of Canada Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) Government of Quebec Investissement Quebec (IQ) Ministère des forêts, de la faune et des parcs (MFFP) Government of British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Kruger Inc. 15
Creating tomorrow s performance materials, hand in hand with nature Balázs Tolnai, Ph.D. General Manager Technology Kruger Inc. 3285 Bedford road, Montreal, Québec, H3S 1G5 Tel.: 1-844-FILAMENT balazs.tolnai@kruger.com www.filocell.com