The primary goals of the project are to validate the concept of newly developed co-ex blown film processes and to develop new materials for the filament of 3-D printing technology which may help in reducing the amount of persistent non-biodegradable plastics waste. This project has the potential to be a leader in producing multilayer co-ex films made of biodegradable cornstarch thermoplastic (TPS) hybrid materials and biodegradable filaments for 3-D printing through green innovation. At the end of the project, researchers plan to demonstrate the following capabilities: biodegradable multi-layer films produced by novel processes, new biodegradable filaments for 3-D printing, and 3-D prototype products made of the new biodegradable materials.
There has been a recent global interest in replacing petroleum-based synthetic polymers with biodegradable hybrid materials to use renewable resources and potentially reduce the amount of persistent non-biodegradable plastics waste. If successful, the outcomes of this project would result in a new biodegradable multi-layer film. Additionally through this project researchers plan to develop an educational model focused on green innovation to promote undergraduate research in the STEM fields.
The primary goal of the NSF-I Corps project was to validate the concept of newly developed co-ex blown film processes and to develop new materials for the filament of 3-D printing technology in the results of the project "Green Plastics Manufacturing Technology (GPMT)." Also, the new biodegradable cornstarch thermoplastic (TPS) hybrid multilayer co-ex films and the biodegradable filaments for 3-D printing are to lead us to develop a scalable and sustainable business model in the future. For the NSF-I Corps project, we developed the new types of the thermoplastic cornstarch plastic (TPS) hybrids by the novel processes eliminating the use of compatibilizer, improving process ability and control of the desirable functions for specific agriculture applications in the Green Plastics Manufacturing Technology (GPMT) lab at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The new biodegradable, sustainable multi-layer-mulch films were tested in the local farms for the use in large scale application. Also, these films were evaluated in a greenhouse environment in order to find feasibility of commercialization for small scale farming. These biodegradable, sustainable hybrids showed not only promising characteristics to replace the existing petroleum-based materials, but also had potentials to create future commercial products for the agriculture industry. With the new biodegradable hybrid filaments, we found that the performance of new hybrid materials can be tailored in order to meet the functional characteristics of the current FDM 3D printers. We attempted to develop a scalable business model through green-solutions, in which we can meet challenges faced by many industries. The new business model is to offer a complete system of green solutions from product design and testing, development, marketing, manufacturing, and products to deliver biodegradable, sustainable, value-added, and cost effective technologies in order to benefit both customers and industry. We will plan to provide advanced technology with more innovative design solutions for new products or sustainable alternatives to existing products by a partnership with an existing company through the NSF Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program Although we have still faced a challenge to create new biodegradable, sustainable starch-based mulch films to compete against current petroleum based biodegradable films, which are not sustainable, in agriculture market. Several outcomes and findings in the results of the I-Corps project have been encouraging to produce new biodegradable, sustainable products in various applications in commercial markets. By utilizing new starch-based hybrid materials and new processing technology, we can achieve not only the desirable biodegradability and sustainability in the product development, but also create a new market and industry in the future. Furthermore, society will benefit from an improved solution to reduce the uses of petroleum-oil based products in environment.
