Biodegradable Wastepaper-Based Foam with Ultrahigh Energy-Absorbing, Excellent Thermal Insulation, and Outstanding Cushioning Properties

Zhang, Bin; Tao, Wenxuan; Ren, Ziming; Yue, Shiqi; Gou, Jinsheng

doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c06230

Cited by 11 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 41 publications

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“…Very low cushion factors were achieved by Ge et al (2018) when they 3D-printed an ideal cellular Kelvin foam structure from thermoplastic polyurethane and attained a cushion factor of 1.22-1.25 at the 87% strain level. On the other hand, earlier studies on low-density fibre materials have indicated cushion factors in the range of 2.4-6 (Zhang et al 2023;Liu et al 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Energy Absorption and Resilience in Quasi-Static Loading of Foam-Formed Cellulose Fibre Materials

Pääkkönen,

Ketoja,

Paltakari

2024

Preprint

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To avoid microplastic pollution, there is an urgent need to replace fossil-based cushioning materials in packaging with easily recyclable alternatives. Here, we investigated the potential of lightweight fibre materials as a solution for mechanical protection. The quasi-static energy absorption properties were studied among a vast set of 129 different foam-formed trial points with material density ranging from 21 kg/m3 to 123 kg/m3. The trial points included two different fibre types, bleached softwood kraft pulp (BSKP) and bleached chemithermomechanical pulp (CTMP), with varied refining level, pulp consistency, foaming conditions, surfactant type, strength additives, and final material density and thickness. Besides a statistical analysis of factors affecting compression stress and resilience, the results were reflected against a theoretical prediction of energy absorption for an ideal low-density random fibre network. The theory predicts the initially-high cushion factor to rapidly drop down to the level of 4‒5 at 40‒80% compression. A similar behaviour was seen among the actual samples, despite their various non-ideal features. At 50% compression, the average cushion factor across the whole data set was 4.84 ± 0.10, being close to the theoretical prediction of 4.61 for the ideal case. The smallest cushion factor of 3.6 was found for a CTMP sample. The recovery from compression varied slightly among the samples and appeared highest for the material density of 60‒100 kg/m3, following the predicted proportion of non-buckled fibre segments. The above results suggest that fibre-based materials work best as cushions when a soft initial response is preferred, which is the case for fragile items.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Energy Absorption and Resilience in Quasi-Static Loading of Foam-Formed Cellulose Fibre Materials

Pääkkönen,

Ketoja,

Paltakari

2024

Preprint

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Load‐Bearing Structure Inspired Cellulose‐Based Aerogel With High Resilience and Water Tolerance

Song,

Pan,

Wang

et al. 2024

Adv Funct Materials

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Cellulose‐based aerogels possess satisfactory sustainability, porosity, and resilience, which are promising materials to replace traditional petroleum‐based foams. However, the viscous aggregation formed between hydrophilic fibers and the pore collapse caused by weak support force pose challenges for their further applications. Here, a load‐bearing structure‐inspired cellulose‐based aerogel is innovatively developed with excellent elasticity and water tolerance through surface‐interface modulation. Specifically, cellulose and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) form interwoven skeletons by non‐directional freeze drying. Crucially, the rhamnolipid surfactant assists in forming stable and uniform bubbles, and drives the regularization of frame structure during the freezing process, promoting the construction of refined mechanical structures. Besides, the interfacial enhancement by esterification reaction of citric acid and the encapsulation by hydrophobic silane via chemical vapor deposition endow aerogels with better resilience and water tolerance. The as‐prepared aerogels can withstand intensive compression cycle tests and possess the ability to rebound over 10 times underwater. Even after 12 h wet treatment, the strain and stress loss respectively decrease by ≈55.5% and ≈14% compare with the initial unregulated aerogels after 500 cycles of 80% compression. Surprisingly, they have excellent cushioning performance beyond expanded polystyrene (EPS) and expanded polyethylene (EPE) in simulated road transportation packaging applications, indicating their potential in new‐generation cushioning materials.

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Preparation of PBAT/PLA Blend Microporous Foam With Excellent Resilience and Cushioning Properties by scCO₂ Technology Through Improving Compatibility

Yang,

Ding,

Liu

et al. 2024

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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The lightweight microcellular foams of polybutylene adipate terephthalate/polylactic acid (PBAT/PLA) with high mechanical strength and excellent resilience and buffering properties were reported using supercritical CO2 foaming technology. The effects of an epoxy chain extender (ST‐CE37B) on the mechanical properties, rheological properties, and dispersion morphology of PBAT/PLA blends were studied. The results showed that ST‐CE37B can act as compatibilizers and the PBAT/PLA blend with 0.5 phr ST‐CE37B exhibited the highest tensile strength (22 MPa). The PBAT/PLA foam with 0.7 phr ST‐CE37B, expansion ratio of 8.0 displayed the minor cell diameter (19.3 μm) and highest cell density (5.44 × 107 cells/cm3), the compressive strength was greater than that of pure PBAT/PLA foam, and the permanent strain was less than 15%. Therefore, compared with other foams, it can withstand larger stress according to the cushioning performance. In addition, this work also discussed the compression rebound performance (resilience) test of foam with the same blending sample, the same cell density, and different cell structures. It was found that foam with a larger cell size (49.2 μ m) showed lower permanent deformation and energy loss coefficient. This study provides a feasible method for preparing high microporous PBAT/PLA foam, expands the application range of biodegradable foam, and has research significance.

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Biodegradable Wastepaper-Based Foam with Ultrahigh Energy-Absorbing, Excellent Thermal Insulation, and Outstanding Cushioning Properties

Cited by 11 publications

References 41 publications

Energy Absorption and Resilience in Quasi-Static Loading of Foam-Formed Cellulose Fibre Materials

Energy Absorption and Resilience in Quasi-Static Loading of Foam-Formed Cellulose Fibre Materials

Load‐Bearing Structure Inspired Cellulose‐Based Aerogel With High Resilience and Water Tolerance

Preparation of PBAT/PLA Blend Microporous Foam With Excellent Resilience and Cushioning Properties by scCO₂ Technology Through Improving Compatibility

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Biodegradable Wastepaper-Based Foam with Ultrahigh Energy-Absorbing, Excellent Thermal Insulation, and Outstanding Cushioning Properties

Cited by 11 publications

References 41 publications

Energy Absorption and Resilience in Quasi-Static Loading of Foam-Formed Cellulose Fibre Materials

Energy Absorption and Resilience in Quasi-Static Loading of Foam-Formed Cellulose Fibre Materials

Load‐Bearing Structure Inspired Cellulose‐Based Aerogel With High Resilience and Water Tolerance

Preparation of PBAT/PLA Blend Microporous Foam With Excellent Resilience and Cushioning Properties by scCO2 Technology Through Improving Compatibility

Contact Info

Product

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Preparation of PBAT/PLA Blend Microporous Foam With Excellent Resilience and Cushioning Properties by scCO₂ Technology Through Improving Compatibility