Hledáme proces či technologii pro zpracování a zvlákňování biopolymerů.
Datum: 12.12.2012
Britská společnost hledá technologie či proces, který by umožnil tažení vláken biopolymerů. Zejména se jedná o pullulan, polymer získaný fermentací škrobu. Hledáme jednotlivce i společnosti, které by dokázali dodat vhodnou technologii či upravit technologii stávající, pro další společný vývoj.
Description:
Biopolymers are greatly appreciated for their environment-friendly properties. They can be found in products in sectors such as food, consumer goods, pharmaceutical and filtration.
As their cost comes down, they are being more widely adopted.
There are some technical barriers in the way as well. The (short lived) mechanical properties of biopolymers have stopped them from being used in certain processing and fabrication such as spinning and weaving.
A UK company is searching for new technology for processing biopolymer type materials into fibres, strands, filaments or non-woven materials. They have a particular interest in pullulan, a polysaccharide polymer produced from starch by fermentation by a fungus. Ideally, it can be processed continuously into fibres for downstream fabrication. However, like many biopolymers, there are some challenges in processing pullulan (particularly spinning it into fibres): in particular, it decomposes before reaching its melting point and is soluble in both water and dimethyl sulphate. Novel spinning technology or process chemistry is needed.
The company is able to provide support for further development of relevant process technology. They are particularly interested in companies able to provide pilot scale quantities of fibres for testing purposes, but also in individuals/companies with expertise in the manufacture of this raw material. One possibility is to provide alternative forms of the material (currently supplied as a powder).
