A Fundamental Review of the Relationships between Nanotechnology and Lignocellulosic Biomass - The Nanoscience and Technology of Renewable Biomaterials - page 25

that deficiencies will arise in strength, optical properties, and probably surface quality
as basis weight is reduced. It is envisioned that solutions would likely be developed to
address each of these deficiencies separately but compatibly is necessary as a set of pre-
competitive, enabling technologies. The solutions will need to be combined in various
ways to generate actual improved products, so adequate coordination will be necessary
in order to assure that solutions in strength, optical properties and surface enhancement
are compatible. With solutions in place, companies with access to the new technologies
can leverage them in order to enter new markets, reduce cost, or in other ways generate
competitive advantage. As a secondary objective, the industry is interested in using
improved fibers and networks to access opportunities in other markets.

1.12.2 Production of Nanocrystalline Cellulose and Nanofibrils from Wood

The objectives in this area are the liberation and use of nanocrystalline cellulose and
nanofibrils derived from lignocellulosic feedstock. Part of nanotechnology-based solu-
tions in this area is the need to identify more commercially attractive methods to
liberate nanodimensional materials. Nanotechnologies using noncovalent disassembly
and reassembly nanofractionalization is a concept worth pursuing. The entropic effects
in the assembly and disassembly of nanomaterials in forest need to be understood. The
use of nanocatalysis (e.g. delignification) for separations is a promising concept that
should be explored. Once liberated, the nanomaterials must be adequately character-
ized, stabilized, and the nanomanufacturing and macromanufacturing technologies be
developed to allow incorporation of nanocrystalline cellulose and nanofibrils into exist-
ing forest products industry allocations as well as new applications. There is a lack of
established methods and technology in the Forest Products Industry to do any of the pre-
ceding. Success in this area allows the Forest Product Industry the opportunity to become
a major supplier of nanoparticles for a wide range of industries. Because of the tonnages
of wood available for processing, commercial production would be both sustainable and
renewable as well as create an industrially significant supply. Nanocrystalline cellulose
and nanofibrils could be extracted from currently underutilized feedstocks, such as forest
residuals and sorted wood wastes. In addition, these nanodimensional cellulosic mate-
rials would likely not have any deleterious environmental, health and safety issues as
cellulose is a biological material that is the world's most abundant polymer and enjoys
the label of generally regarded as safe.
There are a wide range of cellulose surface modification technologies available and it
should be possible to impart multifunctional properties and characteristics to nanocrys-
talline cellulose and nanofibrils. Additional nanotechnology research needs include
(1) identifying and isolating other commercially viable nanomaterials, in addition to
nanocrystalline cellulose and nanofibrils, present in biomass; (2) determining the effects
of species, age, growth conditions, juvenile wood, mature wood, reaction wood etc., on
nanocrystalline cellulose/nanofibril properties and morphology; (3) developing new and
modified metrologies to characterize nanomaterials derived from biological materials;
and (4) identifying new high-value applications.
In the production of nanocrystalline cellulose or nanofibrils, it is important that a
consistent high quality nanomaterial product be able to be produced that does not differ
in with respect to important properties such as composition, diameter, aspect ratio, shape,