Stronger than steel – engineers have proposed a new technology of production of pulp

German-Swedish-German research team has successfully tested a new method for the production of heavy-duty cellulose fibers.

Professor Fredrik Lundell from the Swedish Royal Institute of technology, said: "Our filaments are stronger than aluminum and lighter than steel". In the new technology, the researchers "fed" nanoscale fibrils of cellulose with water through tiny channels. Two jets of water supplied perpendicular, speed up the flow of fibrils. Nanoparticles are connected parallel to the stream, and the salt attaches to the fibrils to each other. Then the wet material is left to dry, where the fibers are compressed to form a durable material. The co-inventor Daniel Saidenberg: "Drying takes a few minutes. The resulting material is fully compatible with the biosphere. Thus, we obtain a biodegradable material compatible with human tissue."

With the help of strong x-ray light, scientists have followed the process and checked the configuration of the nanofibers at different stages of manufacture. As the scientists write, their fiber is much stronger than all other artificial yarns of cellulose nanofibers. "In principle, we can make very long fibers," says landell. "Until now we have made samples with a length of ten centimeters or so, but it's more a question of equipment than the fundamental problem." In their experiments, the researchers used nanofibril from fresh wood, but you can get this component from recycled paper.

Source: nauka24news.ru/