Chemical Technology April 2016

DESIGN & MATERIALS

Sweden, and in Holland, supplement VTT’s own resources, but are not at the moment capable of offering a similar level research environment. The services provided by VTT’s research unit in Brazil are also available. VTT’s expertise in materials technology, process chem- istry or, for example, in the utilisation and standardisation of digitalisation, also lend support to research projects associated with bio-based economy. Industrial sectors approach each other In Finland, various consortia covering the entire value chain could be formed for the purposes of development activities. Once the roles have been clearly defined, no conflicts of interest will arise, and it will be easy to agree on IRP, for example, according to Jussi Mäntyniemi. A frequently encountered problem hampering full-scale utilisation of biomass arises from the fact that such mass is dispersed across wide areas. Finland has the advantage that, because of the pulp and paper industry, material is already concentrated in a few locations and the existing logistics will support the new solutions. On the basis of the materials available in the coniferous forest zone, Finland has a natural competitive edge. Conclusions Bioeconomy challenges participants to adopt a new kind of thinking. In the future, bioeconomy will encourage differ- ent industry sectors to combine their efforts to create new business opportunities offering sustainable development, as never seen before. What is needed is visionary and in- novative thinking, which utilises the potential inherent in the open innovation approach. So concludes VTT Executive Vice President, Strategic Research, Anne-Christine Ritschkoff. ​

research. This spans the entire development spectrum from molecule-level cutting-edge research to process develop- ment and innovative technological solutions. VTT operates in a close collaboration with its inter- national partners. On a global scale, individual testing environments for bioeconomy, for example in Karlsruhe,

Biocomposite development and processing High-performance natural fibre com- posites have been developed at VTT for over a decade. The biocomposite research focuses on the develop- ment of material combinations of wood or versatile natural fibres together with oil and bio-based poly- mers as well as the development of new processing technologies suit- able for these materials. The whole process chain from the preparation of biopolymer matrix materials, ad- ditives and coupling agents, to the fibre modification and, finally, to the processing of biocomposites is cov- ered. VTT offers pilot-scale facilities for the processing of bio- composite materials. • Foaming. The processing development of bio- composites has brought improve- ments in plasticisation, compound- ing, injection moulding, extrusion moulding, multilayer structures and foaming technologies. Bion- anocomposite formulation and processing technologies are also covered. Various characterising and analysing methods for biocom- posite materials are also available at VTT. Th e pilot-scale composite material processing facilities at VTT are comprehensive. There are three co-rotating twin-screw compounders, injection moulders and extruders for making films, coat- ings and profiles.

Composite material develop- ment and processing facilities at VTT include: • Polymerisation and modification of polymers and oligomers • Fibre modification (physical, chemical, enzymatic) • Batch mixing and pelletising • Compounding frommicro (6 g) to pilot scale (20–50 kg/h) • Injection moulding • Extrusion • Compression moulding

The available pre- and post- processing methods include drying, milling, reactive compacting, orien- tation (MD-stretching and biaxial ori- entation), AC-corona film treatment and atmospheric plasma treatment.

For more information contact: Tel: exchange +358 20 722 7070; or email info@vtt.fi.

For more information contact: Antti Ojala, Research team leader

This article is based on an article entitled ‘Let’s make bioeconomy a reality’ by Irma Lind, that appeared in ‘VTT Impulse’, VTT’s research magazine © 2015 VTT, and is republished here with kind permission.

tel: +358 40S8429125 email: antti.ojala@vtt.fi

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Chemical Technology • April 2016