Electrochemical Dewatering of Cellulosic Nanomaterials

Abstract

Cellulose is the most abundant biomass material in nature utilized for the manufacturing of cellulosic nanomaterials that exhibit great potential in a variety of industrial applications. Although cellulosic nanomaterial is cost-effective to produce, it is not economical to ship long distances while containing significant water content (>95 wt.%). Therefore, a need has been identified by manufacturers to develop energy-efficient, dewatering or drying of cellulosic nanomaterials.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.