Eco-friendly Biomass Material (Fluorene Cellulose)

Overview

Osaka Gas provides its original cellulose fiber (fluorene cellulose) that suppresses post-drying aggregation and exhibits high dispersibility in resins and organic solvents.

Background

Cellulose fibers have one fifth the weight and five or more times the strength of steel, and one-fiftieth the thermal expansion coefficient of glass. They are promising as a plastic filler material alternative to glass fibers.
Cellulose fibers, however, have high hydrophilicity (high affinity for water), so that water loses its fluidity only with a several percentage addition of them in water. Furthermore, cellulose fibers dispersed in water will aggregate when dried, which makes it difficult to mix with commodity plastics, making them difficult to use.
The Daigas Group modified the cellulose fiber surface by its original fluorene material to develop fluorene cellulose that is inhibited from aggregation when dried.

Action

Fluorene cellulose, which contains little water, can be provided as a dry powder. Dispersed in alcohol, ether, or other organic solvents, it becomes suitable for coating applications. Moreover, for resin compounds, it can be provided as a masterbatch, being dispersed in resins such as polyamide (PA), polyethylene (PE), and polylactide (PLA).
In particular, by mixing fluorene cellulose with a resin, it is possible to make the product lightweight, stronger, dimensionally stable, and recyclable. We are currently actively providing it in the form of a resin masterbatch as a sample and having it evaluated in various applications.