The Exilva Blog

The open time, wet edge or lapping of a coating is a measure of how much time an air dry coating takes to reach a stage where it can no longer be applied by brush or roller to the same "wet" coating without leaving an indication on drying that the "wet" and newly applied coating did not quite flow together. Therefore, the advantage of having good open time in a stain would result in better general appearance of the stain.

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) differs from many rheology modifiers in that aspect that it can be used in high salinity formulations. The rheology effect comes from entangled fibers and salts do not influence this network as it does when the rheology effect is based on ionic interactions. However, the viscosity and other rheological properties vary slightly as a function of salt concentration. Let’s take a closer look at the reasons behind this.

Three dimensional (3D) printing and tissue engineering are two fields that are currently developing rapidly and are both exciting technologies on their own. What if you combine them? That creates a new manufacturing process, bioprinting. It is a promising technology that might be the key to the on-demand tissue engineering. Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) or nanocellulosic materials generally have an important role in the development.

Professor Lars Berglund, Head of the Biocomposites Division at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (Sweden), guides us through the relationship between cellulose and epoxy in this blog post. Not only do they matter, the properties created by this reaction are also excellent. Learn more about this in this weeks guest blog post.

There are many exciting new innovations coming through in the field of nanocellulose and microfibrillated cellulose these days. In this week’s news on MFC, read about innovations ranging from artificial silk production to stand up pouches.

Microfibrillated cellulose is an interesting rheology additive in several aspects due to its multi-functionalities. It can create pseudoplastic behaviour in flowing systems, prevent cracking of curing systems, improve barrier properties of cured systems, just to name a few opportunities. However, one of its less known characteristics is its ability to perform under a range of different temperatures, without losing the ability to provide the desired viscosity profile. I will in this week’s post focus on how MFC performs at high temperatures in the liquid phases and how it performs in comparison to more well-known rheology additives.

Have you ever had problems with your inkjet printer? I bet that several people have experienced that during the years. The typical pattern is as follows: Your printer has been lying unused on your desk for weeks when suddenly you have an urgent need to print something. Often the outcome is that either the printing is messy or you end up having a blank paper in your hand. This is usually due to the drying of the ink on the printer head which is also known as nozzle clogging.

In many end products, and specifically in cosmetics, the first thing that attracts the consumer is the packaging format. This implies that the packaging should look good and luxurious as a sign of product performance.

There is a high number of new developments going on in the field of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and nanocellulose these days. For example, there are several global initiatives on saving the world from the excess of plastic materials and their pollution by utilizing MFC and nanocellulose. Another hot topic is successful implants of 3D printed nanocellulose being created in Sweden. My third pick of the week is reducing plastic in packaging by biodegradable material being developed in Canada. Let’s take a closer look at this week’s compilation of news from the world of MFC and nanocellulose.