Electrochemical Dewatering of Cellulosic Nanomaterials

Abstract

Renewable cellulosic nanomaterials exhibit great potential in various applications due to unique properties. Abundant availability of feedstock has led to industrialization of production. A significant cost-limiting factor to utilize cellulosic nanomaterials is dewatering/drying as cellulosic nanomaterials are not economical to ship long distances while containing significant water content (>95 wt.%). This represents a critical driver for increased costs of nanocellulose products.Accordingly, Faraday Technology in collaboration with GranBio USA, manufacturers of cellulosic nanomaterials, is addressing this need by developing electrochemical based dewatering system and process to dewater cellulosic nanomaterials while maintaining material properties when dried and re-dispersed. Energy-efficient (70% reduction in energy requirements compared to thermal dewatering), environmentally beneficial (51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions), economical (31% reduction in cost/ton of dried material), and industrially viable electrochemical based dewatering approach to process up to 2 tons/year of dried nanocellulose at alpha-scale has been demonstrated. The approach is capable of achieving >50 wt.% final solids and 18 wt.% final solids, that could be rehydrated under vortex and confirmed for re-dispersibility. Material properties (structure, particle size) were maintained by the dewatered cellulosic nanomaterials. Specifically, this talk will discuss the results of these advancements. Acknowledgements: The financial support of DOE Contract No. DE-SC0018787 is acknowledged.