By Rosemarie Szostak, Nerac Analyst,
Originally published April, 2013
Nanocellulose is making waves as a viable alternative to the more expensive high tech materials such as carbon fibers and carbon nanotubes. Its first creation in 1977 was inauspicious and likely accidental. A researcher at a pulp and paper mill asked the question “What would happen if I took some wood pulp and put it into a milk homogenizer?” At 80C and 8,000 psi he turned his wood pulp slurry into a firm translucent gel. Not sure of the value of the discovery of this early nanocellulose, the company opened up the technology to anyone who wished to exploit it. Nanocellulose progress lay effectively dormant until a decreasing paper demand sparked new interest in this pulp product as a viable new market entry.
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