Descrizione del progetto
L’acqua supercritica potrebbe rivoluzionare la produzione di materiali in PMMA
Il progetto Siphony, finanziato dall’UE, è una collaborazione interdisciplinare tra la scienza dei polimeri, la termodinamica e l’ingegneria di processo dei fluidi supercritici. Il progetto mira a utilizzare l’acqua supercritica nel processo di formazione di espansione del polimetilmetacrilato. L’acqua supercritica mostra proprietà uniche che apportano caratteristiche promettenti al processo: in particolare la sua alta efficienza come solvente, la stabilità, la bassa tossicità e l’assenza di impatto ambientale. Unita all’anidride carbonica, aumenterà l’efficienza del rigonfiamento chimico della plastica e aumenterà l’energia termodinamica dell’espansione di circa sei volte rispetto all’anidride carbonica da sola. Il processo proposto è volto a creare un polimero nanocellulare eccezionalmente morbido, di densità circa 10 volte inferiore, in grado di attirare l’attenzione dell’industria dei materiali isolanti verso lo sviluppo di prodotti ecologici più leggeri.
Obiettivo
Siphony is a disruptive project created from a Breakthrough Materials Coalition between CellMat Laboratories and Dr. Danilo Cantero. This is a multidisciplinary venture involving the Physics and Chemistry of polymers and the Thermodynamics and Process Engineering of Supercritical Fluids. Sub and Supercritical water will be annex to the use of carbon dioxide in the foaming of Polymethyl methacrylate. The innovative and never seen before addition of sub and supercritical water will create benefits in the chemical swelling of the polymer and the addition of thermodynamic energy of explosion, approximately 5-6 times more than carbon dioxide itself. With this, it is expected to achieve the extra hit of power and material softening to reach an outstanding nano cellular polymer of very low density (10 times density reduction compared to initial polymer) and high pores density (>1013 pores/cm3). This kind of materials has outstanding properties as insulators (thermal and acoustic) in many fields of the industry. This proposed invention by employing Siphony process will create an exceptional rated polymer that will revolutionize the insulation industry by dropping insulators weight and increasing the heat transference resistant. Siphony also involves the application of the revolutionary concept invented by Danilo Cantero: the Continuous Sudden Expansion Reactor. The application of this technology to the foaming process of PMMA will bring unconventional properties to the product as well as to the process of foaming. This technology has demonstrated accurate control of residence time and temperature in a continuous mode. In this project, the technology will be redesigned to maximize the water/carbon dioxide dissolution in PMMA and the water/carbon dioxide expansion by sudden decompression in an isenthalpic stage. Also, the high level of shear that is incorporated by this process will be optimized to generate the best performing combination of PMMA particle size and cells size.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
47002 VALLADOLID
Spagna