Cellulose Nanofibers (Nanocellulose): The Next Big Thing

On Feb. 13 Paper + Packaging Board (McLean, Va., USA) President Mary Anne Hansan wrote an article profiling the properties and science behind nanocellulose as the material becomes more set to hit the commercial market for new uses beyond conventional wood-pulp based products and grow at a projected 15-20% CAGR entering the 2020s. Hansan noted that nanocellulose can be used in brand new applications for our industry not only to make new bio-products that are sustainable, but also ones that are considerably lighter yet stronger than their predecessors.

Nanocellulose, Hansan explained, comes from a process of extraction using a special preparation of heat, pressure, and grinding. The resulting fibers are "teeny tiny". Just how small? She noted that the average human hair is 75 micrometers (75 millionths of a meter) wide. The average nanocellulose fiber is 15-30 nanometers in width. That's 20 billionths of a meter! And when it comes to strength it has approximately 8 times the tensile strength of steel acccording to this article. 

Scientists first pioneered nanocellulose in the late 1970s and early 1980s but Hansan noted the world is just now starting to unlock the potential of this material formed by our industry to improve products and health / human life. Within the P&P industry, nanocellulose is now being added to paper to increase its strength and smoothness. Studies reported by OTW over the past few years as well as Hansan's article note the material's promise to improve paper-based packaging's air, water, and lipid barriers. This means that cereal boxes will be better prepared to keep their contents from going stale, pizza boxes will be capable of absorbing more grease, and paper-based coffee cups will not as easily become soggy. Nanocellulosic fibers can also be made into a transparent film similar to certain plastics that could previously only be made using fossil-fuel derivitives, opening up a larger market for bio-plastics derived from forest industry residuals that could represent a big boost to our industry. 

Outside of the conventional P&P industry and its standard range of products, the article also noted that nanocellulose can be fabricated into foams and gels. And because it is completely non-toxic, it can serve as suitable stabilizers, flavor carriers, and thickeners in food. As OTW has reported on previously and Hansan's article noted, some manufacturers even see potential for the use of cellulosic nano fibers in building the next generation of lighter, stronger auto parts for safer and extremely fuel efficient motor vehicles. 

Hansan noted some of the more recent research showing promise for the material. It's possible that nanocellulose is capable of replacing non-biodegradable and sometimes toxic substances used in making cellphones and digital tablets. Experiments have shown that the nanofibers derived from cellulose can be biodegraded by a special type of fungus. And the organic matter that's then left behind can go right back into our forests as raw material for growing trees - completing a sustainable and renewable circle of production, use, and recycling to full benefit. 

The article concluded by noting that after a couple of thousand years when paper from wood-pulp revolutionized the way the world communicated, nanofibers from wood-pulp could once again revolutionize the way we communicate (or at least in how we build communication devices so as to fit into the sustainable economy necessary as we head further into the 21st century).