The Exilva Blog

Over the last several years consumers have become more and more aware of the environmental impact of cosmetic products. Indeed cosmetic products end up down the drain and in the water system after a shower. The trend today is, therefore, to use natural raw materials to replace synthetic ingredients and reduce the environmental impact.

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) is subject to high interest from both academia and the industry these days. A lot of exciting research is being conducted at various universities and research centers around the world. In this blog post I will review articles I found particularly interesting regarding the use of MFC in adhesives and coatings. Note that, for the sake of simplicity, I have used the term “MFC” throughout this text even if the researchers might have used a different name in their articles. 

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) has potential as a multifunctional additive in various applications. Its performance  ranges from improving stability and flow properties in coatings and adhesives to giving immediate anti-wrinkle effect in skin creams. We often say that, in addition to these effects, one of the other advantages of using MFC is that it is “readily activated”. But what does that mean?

Effective pest control is an essential part of modern food production. Different pesticide products, like herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, are used to ensure healthy growth of the crop and efficient land use. In addition to the active ingredient in the pesticide, auxiliary components can be added to the pesticide formulation or separately to the spray tank. These auxiliary elements are also called adjuvants, and they are used to ensure the effect of pesticides in different environmental conditions. Typically adjuvants can improve the biological activity of the herbicides by, for instance, reducing spray drift, increasing the wetting of the plant surface or enhancing the uptake of the herbicide into the plant leaves. Let me present two cases where microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) can help to improve the performance of pesticides.

In the exiting field of microfibrillated cellulose new usage opportunities are constantly emerging. During the first quarter of 2016, we have seen many interesting new usage areas, and I will show you a selection of them in this article.

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) is a natural and sustainable material derived from cellulose. As for any process, it is important to have good control of the raw material when producing MFC. For cellulose, the picture is slightly more complicated since there are many cellulose sources that can be used as raw material, and each of them will lead to different MFC qualities. In this blog post I will introduce you to different raw materials, how the processing of the different raw materials can affect the MFC quality and how to deal with the natural variations in the raw material.   

Since around year 2000, there has been a notable increase in the number of patent applications filed regarding new MFC materials, new processes for production and new application areas for MFC. The nomenclature used in the field of MFC varies (nanocellulose, cellulose nanofibers, nanocellulosic fibers etc). In this blog post, I will give you a summary of a few interesting patent applications recently published, using the “original” nomenclature MicroFibrillated Cellulose (MFC).

Currently the world financial situation is such that expensive exploration for new oil wells becomes less and less tempting. The successful oil business today is rather driven by the necessity to extract more oil out of any existing oil well, than previously considered desirable or indeed possible.

Welcome to the Exilva blog, brought to you by Borregaard. This is your weekly update on microfibrillated cellulose (MFC). Here you will find articles about MFC characteristics, functionalities and news and tips. Whether you are new to the term "MFC" and its concepts, or experienced within the field, this blog will definitely provide you with some good insights and ideas.