The Exilva Blog

The biggest change in the coffee culture in recent years has been the way people prepare their coffee at home. An increasing number of households use single serve brewing (pods, capsules) for producing a fresh cup of coffee, resulting in an increased amount of waste. Replacing the current coffee packing materials is not straightforward, and obviously there are several challenges related to it. In this blog post I will play with the idea how microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) could support the development of new, more environmentally friendly, compostable or biodegradable coffee capsules.

2017 looks exciting regarding the commercial use of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC). New industrial applications pop up regularly as the opportunities with MFC become clearer, and the availability of MFC improves. For example, MFC is known to strengthen composite materials, but the real value comes from the combination of properties that MFC can bring to certain applications, as demonstrated in the two examples below.

The first thing that usually comes to mind when hearing the word incontinence is diapers. These large pants almost impossible to hide and wear without someone noticing them. However, the product targeted for adult incontinence are in most cases pads, which are either in the form of underpants or attached to your underwear. Since people suffering from incontinence still want to live normal, active life, the industry is targeting thinner, discrete, but at the same time more efficient products to wear under regular clothes. So the question is, how will microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) fit into this picture?

Cellulose is a renewable and sustainable material and is one of the most abundant natural polymers on earth. Traditionally, cellulose materials have been sold either as a material at the fiber level or as modified celluloses at the molecular level. Currently, there is a high interest in utilizing the full potential of cellulose, and development and commercialization of cellulose materials possessing other structural dimensions are continuously progressing. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) has been used commercially for decades. In recent years, the scientific work has focused mainly on two different types of celluloses; microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC).

In a previous blog post, I was focusing on the differences and similarities between MFC and MCC. In this continuation blog post, I will give you a comparison of MFC and Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC).

It has been an amazing first year for The Exilva Blog and we’ve been proved that the entrance of Microfibrillated Cellulose in a commercial way, excites a massive group out there. We are already more than eager to start the New Year and share more of our experiences, knowledge and ideas with you. First, let us wrap up the first year of blogging with a top 10 Special Edition.

Cellulose is a renewable and sustainable material and is one of the most abundant natural polymers on earth. Traditionally, cellulose materials have been sold either as a material at the fiber level or as modified celluloses at the molecular level.

Currently, there is a high interest in utilizing the full potential of cellulose, and development and commercialization of cellulose materials possessing other structural dimensions are continuously progressing. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) has been used commercially for decades. In recent years, the scientific work has focused mainly on two different types of celluloses; microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC).

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and fumed silica are both used for controlling the rheology of liquid systems, such as thixotropy and stability, and may be used within the same field of applications giving similar properties. However, there are also profound differences between the two. For example, where MFC is a natural product derived from cellulose-based raw materials, the native hydrophilic fumed silica is an amorphous, colloidal silicon dioxide prepared by a flame hydrolysis process. So why can two such, at first glance, different products be used in similar applications? In this blog post, I will dig more into detail about the two multifunctional additives, and discuss how their similarities and differences may affect application properties.

The use of cellulose in the form of filter paper is known for long. Still, we see limited use in water purification since most of the impurities flow through a standard filter paper. What happens if we use cellulose micro- or nanofibers instead to make paper or flat sheets? How do these sustainable materials perform in water purification applications? Our guest writer, Assoc. Prof. Aji Mathew, shares her thoughts.

A unique character of MFC is that it normally comes as a water suspension and at very low concentrations, in some cases as low as 2% of active matter in water. This is a positive feature in the sense that non-dry MFC is readily activated and easy to introduce into various formulations.