Research and development of manufacturing protocols and new binders for the industrial production of bio-composites materials

Within the scope of moving towards a circular economy, “green” materials surely represent an excellent alternative, both in terms of sustainable manufacturing process and circular lifespan. For instance, “bio-composites” are promising bio-based materials constituted by bio-polymers or bio-derived polymers that are reinforced by natural fibres or biological wastes and/or residues. The present Internship and Thesis project took place at Mogu S.r.l., a small Italian company (VA) that creates responsible products for interior design. In details, it focused on the production process of bio-composites tiles for flooring from agro-industrial residues like hemp-shives. The current production protocol was firstly implemented through the investigations of macro-variables: particles’ size and distribution, alternative fibres, different %/dry weight of kraft lignin as binder, temperature and pressure, density and thickness. This allowed to cut by almost 38% the total manufacturing time and reduce the amount of bio-adhesive, thus improving the overall sustainability of the process. Then, alternative bio-adhesives have been tested both in a pure form and after pre-treatments. Precisely, some experimental procedures have been developed to denaturise soy and whey proteins, on the basis of methodologies reported in literature. Finally, the most promising bio-composites were further characterized by performing some mechanical tests. Particularly, the tiles with thermally activated whey proteins isolates as binder showed the best flexural properties, far above the threshold values set by norms. Conversely, further studies will be needed to improve panels’ dimensional stability since also the lowest value of swelling in thickness, recorded for panels with kraft lignin and thermally pre-treated, was not in compliance with norms. Nevertheless, the Project confirmed that it is feasible to reach interesting properties with natural components coming from leftovers of several industries.