Cellulose Nanofibers Making Market Impact
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There are now a range of products on the market incorporating nanocellulose from beauty products to footwear and sporting goods. Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.’s TEMPO oxidized CNF “Cellenpia®” has been used in a high performance tire “ENASAVE NEXTⅢ” newly released by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. The tire allows for greater environmental performance across the entire product lifecycle including raw materials and product usage.
The use of nanocellulose offers environmentally friendly solutions and a petroleum-based alternative for a range of industries including automotive composites and packaging. Wood products have also grown in prominence recently in construction allowing for buildings that can be constructed faster, are strong, lightweight and offer improved insulation and noise reduction. The use of nanocellulose in buildings offer enhanced thermal insulation capability and mechanical properties that contribute to energy savings, less usage of environmentally harmful materials, and reduction of adverse environmental impacts.
Nanocellulose will greatly impact environmentally friendly and biodegradable solutions in market such as packaging films, paper & board, composites, paints, coatings & films, biomedical applications (e.g., pharmaceuticals, diagnostic imaging, drug delivery, tissue engineering materials), textiles, oil & gas, filtration, cement, sensors, rheology modifiers, aerogels, 3D printing and printed & flexible electronics.
Most major paper and pulp producers are actively involved in commercialization of Cellulose nanofibers (CNF), seeking commercial application in high volume industries such as paper & board, composites and packaging. However, several are also seeking to move into applications in areas such as electronics and adding production of Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) for more advanced applications. Celluforce is investing in upgrading their CNC capability and Melodea is establishing a 35 ton per annum CNC plant in Sweden with plans for a 200 ton per annum facility in Israel by 2022.
The nanocellulose market is growing fast in Japan, with products already on the market in textiles, sanitary products and consumer goods. The market is heavily concentrated in countries with significant forestry industries.
Cellulose nanofibers (CNF) are sustainable materials with high mechanical strength (stronger than steel), high aspect ratios, high transparency, and high chemical resistance and impressive rheological, optical, film-forming properties. They are also lightweight and have made a recent impact in industrial applications and in biopolymer, bio-composites and nanomaterials research.
Industrial products have been introduced to the market recently in packaging, composites and thermoplastics, biomedicine and hygiene, mainly in the Japan market. Advanced applications in paper batteries and flexible electronics are also expected once current processing challenges have been overcome.
Cellulose nanofiber production is now at the industrial scale, with numerous large paper manufacturers multi-ton production facilities globally. Japanese chemicals manufacturers are also developing cellulose nanofiber production. Facilities have also been established in Europe (mainly Scandanavia), Canada and the United States.
The table of contents and and sample content for Future Markets’ full report is available at https://www.futuremarketsinc.com/nanocellulosemarket/
