On Wednesday, March 15, the Closing Ceremony of the Fondef Project ID20I10186: “Development of a high performance elastomeric material, using ligno-cellulose microfibers as a non-conventional reinforcing agent, from the excess fines of the paper process, for use in the manufacture of industrial products” was held in the auditorium of the Technological Development Unit. The project was executed by the Technological Development Unit of the Universidad de Concepción (UDT) and the Faculty of Engineering of the Universidad de Concepción (FI); the financing came from the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID). Presentations were made by Prof. Miguel Pereira, FI Professor and Project Director; Karen Gálvez, Head of the Elastomeric Materials Laboratory of UDT; Alexandra Soto, Project Engineer of the Forest Products Laboratory of FI; and Dr. Patricia Castaño, Project Engineer of UDT.
The project sought to use a paper industry waste from the cardboard recycling process, known as “fines” (fiber particles smaller than 6 microns), to obtain lignocellulose microfibers (MLFC). The optimal characteristics of the microfibers, to be incorporated into rubber compounds, were determined.
Prof. Miguel Pereira welcomed the participants and presented the capabilities of the Forest Products Laboratory (LPF) of the Faculty of Engineering. Karen Gálvez presented the capabilities of her laboratory and Alexandra Soto explained the process of recovery and conversion of the “fines” to obtain MFLC and some aspects of the characterization methodologies. Next, Dr. Patricia Castaño detailed how MFLCs were incorporated into rubber matrices and the methodology for the fabrication of MFLC and carbon black (NH) hybrid composites. She also explained the characterization techniques of the compounds obtained to evaluate their performance.
Among the conclusions, it stands out that the incorporation of MFLC allows obtaining a rubber compound in a faster way and with a better dispersion of the reinforcing agent, which has an impact on the physical and mechanical properties; in addition, there is a probable advantage for the elaboration of parts that need to be pigmented with a color different from black. Another relevant conclusion is the possibility of reducing by up to 70% the carbon black content in natural rubber compounds, by using a hybrid system of MFLC and NH, which constitutes a great environmental advance.
At the end of the presentation, the joint work between two departments of the Universidad de Concepción, UDT and FI, the support of ANID and the participation of the companies FPC Papeles and Rubber Mix were highlighted.