A research project known as “Biobased Non-Isocyanate Urethane Hybrid Resins for Pultrusion Composites” is in the process of bringing out green composite building products.
The project is pursued by a group of scientists and engineers from Fargo, ND- based North Dakota State University (NDSU) and collaborated by Tecton Products.
Building composites are normally manufactured utilizing glass fibers that are bonded together by applying synthetic binder resin. The research team will venture to formulate new bio-based binder resins by utilizing agricultural products such as sugar, cellulose and soybean oil. The research team will perform diverse chemical reaction methods over the agricultural produces to prepare a sequence of prospective resins to utilize in composites. It will then test the resins deployed in composites to spot the prospective resins for further testing by NDSU and Tecton in actual manufacturing settings.
Chad Ulven, assistant professor, in Department of Mechanical Engineering of NDSU, stated that the end product of the research is anticipated to have either low level or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). He further said that the new product is expected to have improved level of physical properties in comparison with the conventional products currently available. He concluded on the successful completion of the project, the invented composite material utilizing the newly developed resin can be manufactured on a large scale for commercial usage.
The project has received two-year $200,000 funding from North Dakota Renewable Energy Council under the auspices of the State Industrial Commission. It also received $80,000 as supporting fund from the North Dakota Soybean Council.
Source: http://www.ndsu.edu/