National Activities - UK SusCompNet

Contacts
Website: www.suscomp.net
Summary Information



To find similar Items, click on a keyword below:
Biocomposites/Boards : National Activities - UK



SusCompNet 5

The fifth meeting of SusCompNet was held in September 2003 at the Manchester Materials Science Centre. Following a welcome speach (Steve Eichhorn) and a review of the overall aims and objectives of the Network (Nick Tucker), talks were presented on the following subjects:

• Sustainable Packaging - Masa Tanaka
• Deformation Micromechanics of Renewable Resource Fibres - Steve Eichhorn
• An Overview of Biocomposite Progress in SE Asia - Khairul Zaman (MINT, Malaysia)
• Genetic variability and plant fibre production - David Hartley

This meeting followed on from the LINK meeting on natural fibres held on the previous day, resulting in some duplication of both the audience and in the material presented as much of the experimental work had been supported in part by the LINK programme. Again two major themes emerged in discussion. These related to the origin of material used in experimental work, where complex analysis was often performed on a single sample of fibre (not always even of UK origin), while other work showed the variability in fibre quality that depended on the variety used, time of sowing, harvesting and retting, use of desicants and other factors. The last speaker took the cabbage family (brassicas) as a model to show the range of variability that was possible within a genera, resulting from polyploidy and crossing - ranging from those bred for oil (rapeseed), through the better known vegetables (cabbages and turnips) to more exotic manifestations of the same underlying gene pool. While this brought home the possibility of variation, which probably needs to be taken into account by some of those engaged in sophisticated laboratory analysis, the extent and relevance of variation in fibre composition and structure to their application in commercial products based on biocomposites requires further investigation.

These aspects relating to the fine detail of biocomposite manufacture contrasted with the talk given by the invited speaker from Malaysia which outlined a detailed study funded by the government that looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the country as an exported of wood and wood products. In the past a considerable industry had been built on the use of rubber wood (reflecting the subsitution of rubber trees by oil palm as agricultural policies changed). At the same time stricter application of certification of the origin of hard woods (aimed at protecting tropical rain forests) meant that the country was now importing some pine from Australasia and oak from Europe. Although oil palm trunks were widely available these do not provide wood, but could be a source of fibre suitable for production of composite boards. Overall these factors would result in a shift in the nature of products coming from Malaysia, but the industry was expected to adapt to such changes and remain competitive. There was a perceived thret from 'Chinese fibre' based on annual or herbaceous fibre crops and some work was being carried out to explore development of these.