Dover Clear
Published

Mold Can Infiltrate & Weaken Bio-composite Materials

Research looks at if and when mold will grow on bio-materials and how it might affect the final product.

Share

New research from the University of British Columbia’s (UBC’s) School of Engineering shows that mold is proving to be increasingly important in the arena of engineering materials and can lead to early deterioration and structural failure. This is particularly the case as manufacturers adopt more bio-derived materials in the drive toward a ‘greener future’, according to researcher Bryn Crawford.

A multi-disciplinary team of researchers at UBC’s Okanagan campus from the Composites Research Network and the Department of Biology, working in collaboration with MIT and the National Research Council of Canada, has been studying the development and application of bio-sourced composites—specifically flax and hemp fibers. Both materials are plentiful in Canada and can be mixed with other materials—including a range of thermoplastics—to create cheaper, recyclable, and effective composite material products that are used by a wide range of industries, including transportation.

“Canada has a lot of biomass that can be used to produce materials that are both light and inexpensive…We are looking at ways of using biomass in engineering, but there is a level of natural deterioration in these products that is still not fully understood,” explains Crawford.

In the study, researchers conducted a number of experiments to determine if and when mold will grow on bio-materials and how it might affect the final product. “When we bring microbiology into engineering, it raises some extra questions; some questions we’ve never thought about before…But, because we’re now using biological matter, we have to think of fungal growth and how this fungal growth will affect a product’s performance,” says Crawford.

The researchers examined flax and hemp fibers alongside other natural materials to determine what would happen over time to these fibers. They created ‘fiber sheets’ and then added fungi to some, water to others, and left another group of sheets untreated.

Researchers were not surprised that the materials grew mold, the idea of the project was to determine the types of environment where the fungal sports would grow and then test mechanical properties of the affected materials. The team conducted a variety of tests examining them for strength, stiffness, or the amount of energy that could be absorbed before the bio-composite materials failed. They also used scanning electron microscopy to take an extreme close-up of the interior of the sample to determine fungal growth patterns, examining fractures, and failure zones.

“It was a huge experiment and we found that in both the hemp and flax fibers, when no fungi were added, we still had fungi growing…Basically, when raw natural fibers are exposed to high relative humidity, mold will grow and the potential for premature structural failure can occur.” Crawford notes that this susceptibility to mold growth is important for supply chains and factories to understand and manage, in order to ensure they are creating durable and robust products.

“Bio-composites made from natural fibers are good for both the environment and the economy and could help usher in the next revolution in manufacturing. More multi-disciplinary research of this kind is vital to producing high-quality and durable bio-composite materials that help make that leap,” sums up Crawford.

Realationships
New Tinius Olsen VectorExtensometer testing
NPE2024: The Plastics Show
Advantage temperature control units
Guill - World Leader in Extrusion Tooling
Insert molding automation
Vecoplan
Cranes, Conveyors, Racks, Loaders, Accessories
Maguire Ultra
mold, mould track, digital tracking, molding
Vacuum conveying powders to extruders compounding
Shuttle Mold System

Related Content

Additives

Resins & Additives for Sustainability in Vehicles, Electronics, Packaging & Medical

Material suppliers have been stepping up with resins and additives for the ‘circular economy,’ ranging from mechanically or chemically recycled to biobased content.  

Read More
sustainability

How to Extrusion Blow Mold PHA/PLA Blends

You need to pay attention to the inherent characteristics of biopolymers PHA/PLA materials when setting process parameters to realize better and more consistent outcomes.    

Read More
industry 4.0

50 Years...600 Issues...and Still Counting

Matt Naitove marks his first half-century in plastics reporting, with a few of his favorite headlines.

Read More

Melt Flow Rate Testing–Part 1

Though often criticized, MFR is a very good gauge of the relative average molecular weight of the polymer. Since molecular weight (MW) is the driving force behind performance in polymers, it turns out to be a very useful number.

Read More

Read Next

Extrusion Know How

Troubleshooting Screw and Barrel Wear in Extrusion

Extruder screws and barrels will wear over time. If you are seeing a  reduction in specific rate and higher discharge temperatures, wear is the likely culprit.   

Read More
best practices

People 4.0 – How to Get Buy-In from Your Staff for Industry 4.0 Systems

Implementing a production monitoring system as the foundation of a ‘smart factory’ is about integrating people with new technology as much as it is about integrating machines and computers. Here are tips from a company that has gone through the process.

Read More
Injection Molding

Processor Turns to AI to Help Keep Machines Humming

At captive processor McConkey, a new generation of artificial intelligence models, highlighted by ChatGPT, is helping it wade through the shortage of skilled labor and keep its production lines churning out good parts.

Read More
mold, mould track, digital tracking, molding