糖心Vlog

The Herty Advanced Materials Development Center (Herty), an applied research center of 糖心Vlog, today launched a new Advanced Chemical Processing (ACP) pilot facility. 聽This new pilot facility allows Herty to expand its research programs and client services to those companies seeking to develop and test new advanced materials required in today鈥檚 international and increasingly competitive markets.聽 Applications range from the development of active fibers for water filtration, nutraceuticals and the production of biomaterials for automotive and aerospace parts. 鈥淲e listened to our industrial partners and engineered this new pilot facility to meet their future needs for material and chemical processing,鈥� said Dr. Alexander A. Koukoulas, President & CEO. 鈥淭he scale and flexibility of this system is second to none and it integrates well with our extensive in-house capabilities. It provides our partners and clients with a unique platform for accelerating the pace of new product development in a number of growing industrial sectors, including biomaterials and discrete manufacturing.鈥� The new ACP at Herty allows the development, testing and production of a wide range of advanced specialty and high performance materials, like nanocrystalline cellulose 鈥� an exceptionally strong, low-cost, renewable composite material that has multiple applications in the automotive and aerospace industries. It also enables Herty to process a wide variety of materials from minerals to polymers for industrial, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications, as well as for pulp bleaching. 鈥淣anocellulose has the strength properties similar to those of Kevlar庐 and is considered to be one of the most promising renewable biomaterial for the type of advanced composites used in the automotive and aerospace industries,鈥� said Dr. Omar F. Ali, Director BioProducts. 鈥淲ith our newly-designed facility and our expertise in processing this renewable material for multiple purposes, we are poised to help industry partners produce these advanced materials for a variety of current and next generation industrial needs.鈥� The versatility of the ACP pilot area will also go beyond nanocellulose, allowing Herty to process anything from minerals to polymers, and to modify those materials 鈥� turning the pedestrian into exciting. One such amazing transformation will be the production of bio-based polymers, such as lignin, which can be used to produce low-cost carbon fiber. Additionally, the ACP pilot area will allow Herty to provide more traditional chemical processes, such as pulp bleaching, as an integral part of its traditional pulp and paper services. 鈥淲e now have the ability to process raw biomass feedstocks, such as wood chips and agricultural residues, and process this material to isolate the fiber. We can then bleach the fiber and produce roll goods,鈥� said Dr. Ali. 鈥淭his means we can provide product developers with a unique one-stop-shop for processing natural fibers, making the process more efficient, cost-effective and streamlined for our partners,鈥� said Dr. Ali. Finally, the ACP area will be used to prepare advanced polymer systems that can be used in 3-D printing applications. 3-D printing is revolutionizing manufacturing because it enables on-demand production everything from electronic components and auto parts to living tissue. The ACP pilot facility, we will be able technology developers to produce master batch quantities of materials used in a range of 3-D printing platforms. At the center of Herty鈥檚 ACP pilot facility is a versatile 500 L reactor, which can be used for continuous mixing, multi-component reactions, and continuous drying. All wetted parts are Hastelloy庐, which allows the processing of corrosive materials, such as strong acids. The reactor system is fully instrumented, with data logging capabilities to monitor reaction conditions. Direct reactant injection and sampling is also available. 鈥淢ore and more American industry is competing on razor thin differences 鈥� a lighter case or more break-resistant glass for a mobile phone, a lighter car body with an improved mpg, or lower-cost materials for manufacturing medicines,鈥� said Dr. Walter Chappas, Director of Herty鈥檚 Advanced Materials Group.聽 鈥淭his new reactor system offers a powerful platform for giving US industry new and innovative materials, from plastics to specialized coatings.鈥� About Herty Advanced Materials Development Center The Herty Advanced Materials Development Center, an applied research center of 糖心Vlog, is a world-class research, development, and demonstration facility. Herty is a new product and process accelerator providing technical, market, and development expertise in short-fiber composites, biomaterials, and biomass processing. Herty鈥檚 expertise and extensive pilot-scale capabilities for prototyping new products help companies de-risk the commercialization process. Visit: . About 糖心Vlog 糖心Vlog, a public Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers more than 125-degree programs serving more than 20,500 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered and hands-on approach to education. Visit