The aim of the project ‘Sustainability of paludicultures with special consideration of the nutrient balance (NAPALU)’ is to quantify the influence of nutrient supply and other relevant factors (e.g. water levels) on the medium and long-term yield and quality development of fen paludicultures as well as on environmental impacts and utilisation options in Bavaria and Lower Saxony. The project aims to assess how sustainable fen paludicultures are in the medium term with regard to productivity, utilisation routes and economics on the one hand and with regard to water and nutrient dynamics, biodiversity and climate relevance on the other hand. In addition, selected utilisation and product lines are to be developed and prototypically implemented. To this end, the market opportunities of promising and previously less intensively investigated products and applications with the highest possible added value will be analysed. The project offers a unique opportunity to comprehensively evaluate the ecological and economic sustainability of various paludicultures for the first time by integrating already established fen paludiculture areas.
Funding: Bund, Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (BMEL)
Subsidies: 124,017.50 €
Project duration: 11/2022 - 11/2025
Project leader: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Müssig
Project co-worker: Jonas-Rumi Baumann
Microbond sample with viscose regenerated cellulose fibre of fineness 3,3 dtex (Danufil®- Kelheim Fibres GmbH, Kelheim, DE) with a droplet of polyethene (NR 000491 Lupolen, LyondellBasell Industries, Rotterdam, NL)
Natural/Regenerated cellulose fibre-reinforced composites often exhibit poor fibre/matrix adhesion due to the incompatibility between the hydrophilic reinforcing fibres and hydrophobic matrix. In the current project, industrially developed continuous regenerated cellulose fibres and polyethene (potentially of bio-based origin) are used to manufacture fibre-reinforced composites by introducing an intermediate step of UV irradiation of a semi-finished composite sample (Figure 1). This approach assumes that a cross-linked transition layer can be formed at the interface between UV transparent matrix and UV adsorbing fibres, thus avoiding petrochemical adhesion promotors. The effect of UV irradiation on the fibre/matrix adhesion is characterised by analysing the performance of the UV irradiated fibre-reinforced composite through single fibre tensile, micro-bond, tensile, double notch, and fatigue tests.
The research Project IGF-No. 21818 N of Forschungskuratorium Textil e. V. was funded by the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie in the framework of the program Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung (IGF) based on a decision by Deutscher Bundestag.
01.05.2021 – 30.04.2023
Lightweight design, especially with natural fibre-reinforced composites, is essential to match sustainability demands within the mobility sector. Lightweight construction methods such as the established sandwich structure in combination with bio-based natural fibre-reinforced composite materials are of great relevance, which should represent an alternative to established metallic structures or glass fibre-reinforced petrochemical composite structures. In the GreenBox project, natural fibre-reinforced sandwich structures are being developed and manufacturing processes optimised for scalable industrial series production. This is being pursued to reduce the environmental impact on several levels and take a step towards sustainable mobility.
Funding: This project (VE4127B) was funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Subsidies: 269.702,85 €
Project duration: 10/2021 - 09/2023
Project leader: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Müssig
Project co-worker: Raja Bade & Jan-Marten Sprenger
Press release: JEC Composites Innovation Awards - Nomination
The polymer processing industry is aware of the need for sustainable plastic solutions. Polymer waste streams are available but do not find appropriate applications.
Mid-range mechanical performances can be obtained by combining available recycled commodity thermoplastics (PE/PP and its variants) or biobased thermoplastics (PLA) with natural fibre reinforcement (e.g., flax) and appropriate additives. Using recycled materials in combination with natural fibres (virgin and recycled flax) results in a fully sustainable solution. Recycled polymers are also cheaper than new materials in most cases, which further illustrates the economic potential of this research approach. Literature review and previous research showed that it is possible to use straw flax instead of the heavily processed, and therefore more expensive, flax fibres typically used in the textile industry. In Western Europe, textile flax can only be cultivated in limited regions, whereas oil flax can be grown in a much larger area. Up to now, the stems of oil flax accumulate as a non-used waste product during the flax seed harvest.
This project aims to develop and apply an industrially relevant, fully sustainable compound with oil flax stems as a reinforcement. The new compound should possess satisfying mechanical properties and be economical simultaneously.
The IGF research project No.: 308 EN (as part of a transnational CORNET project) was funded by the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz (BMWK) in the framework of the program Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung (IGF) based on a decision by Deutscher Bundestag.
The project aims to recover nettle as a fibre crop by using its ability to grow on marginal land that would otherwise remain under-used. To achieve this goal, the European partners examine the following aspects: Nettle biomass production on marginal lands and processing its fibre yield into bio-based materials. Investigation of possible processing constraints, such as uptake of contaminants into usable biomass, due to the soil conditions. Effect of poplar co-cropping on soil and nettle fibre conditions. The gathered information will be set in a broader commercial feasibility and sustainability context.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 771134. The project NETFIB was carried out under the ERA- NET Cofund SusCrop (Grant N°771134), being part of the Joint Programming Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE-JPI).
The flammability of natural and cellulose fibre-reinforced plastics is a major problem concerning their use for demanding applications, e.g. in the transport sector. In the flame retardancy project, textile semi-finished products are equipped with boron-containing flame retardants so that they are less easily flammable and have a smoke suppression effect. Flame retardants should not negatively affect the mechanical properties of composite materials. The flame retardancy project meets this challenge and analyses the effectiveness of boron-containing flame retardants, their efficacy and their influence on composite materials' properties.
The research Project IGF-No. 21318 N of Forschungskuratorium Textil e. V. was funded by the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie in the framework of the program Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung (IGF) based on a decision by Deutscher Bundestag.
In the course of the legally required increase in resource and energy efficiency, natural fibres are already being used for low-stressed components in series production, e.g., for interior trim panels in automotive applications. The available mechanical potential of the natural fibres is often not fully exploited. However, producing components that withstand high mechanical loads requires high- quality semi-finished products. High-quality yarns and technical textiles made of natural fibres can significantly exceed the costs of conventional semi-finished products. A major goal of the project was to produce low-cost, high-quality yarns from bast fibre bundles (hemp and flax) from cheaper staple fibres. The fibres in the yarn must barely be twisted to enable a good fibre alignment in the load direction. Within the project, a composite material was produced from the developed semi-finished products for a narrow-gauge railway leaf spring element with optimised damping properties.
This work was supported by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) on the basis of a resolution of the German Bundestag (funding No. 22026215, 22014817 and 22015417).
