Environmentally friendly "green" biodegradable composites from natural fiber and cellulosic plastic - Poster, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, Hyatt Regency Chicago Riverside Center. Cellulosic plastics are considered as the bio-polymers of the future. Creating bio-plastic from waste materials such as recycled paper or sugarcane is one way to make products environmentally friendly. Right now, cellulosic plastics are expensive, but at MSU scientists are experimenting with ways to use various inexpensive bio-fibers as reinforcements with cellulosic plastic to develop sustainable bio-composites for flexibility and strength.

Eco-friendly composite materials from biodegradable polymers: bio-composites to nanocomposites -Paper, 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 30, McCormick Place South Room S103A. Sustainability, industrial ecology and green chemistry are the new principles that are guiding the development of the next generation of products and processes. By embedding natural fibers such as kenaf, hemp, jute, sisal, flax, henequen, pineapple leaf fiber and coconut fibers into renewable resource-based bio-polymers such as soy-plastic, cellulosic plastic, starch plastic and corn-based plastic, new bio-composites are continuously being developed at MSU. The bio-plastics are developed through reactive extrusion processing. Through nanoclay reinforcement of bio-plastic, researchers are developing green nanocomposites.

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Contact: Sue Nichols
nichols@msu.edu
517-355-2281
Michigan State University
27-Aug-2001