Principles, advantages and industrial applications of rapidly dispersing nanocellulose

1. Industry introduction: The dispersion problem of nanocellulose restricts the large-scale industrialization of the industry

Nanocellulose ( CNF ), as a green biomass nanomaterial currently being developed in the global new material field, has the advantages of ultra-high specific surface area, ultra-high aspect ratio, excellent mechanical strength, good biocompatibility, and complete biodegradability. It is widely used in high-end fields such as water-based coatings, fine chemicals, daily chemical gels, biomedicine, environmentally friendly packaging, and composite material reinforcement. As domestic green substitution and plastic reduction policies continue to advance, nanocellulose has gradually become a core new material that can replace traditional chemical thickeners, synthetic rheology additives, and plastic reinforced substrates.

However, in the long-term industrial application process, traditional nanocellulose has common technical problems such as poor redispersibility, easy agglomeration, hard agglomeration, and difficulty in activation , which have become the biggest bottleneck restricting the implementation of the industry. During the dehydration, drying, and molding processes of conventional dry nanocellulose, a large number of hydroxyl groups on the fiber surface will associate with high-strength hydrogen bonds, and the fiber stacks will become dense and solidified, forming an irreversible agglomeration structure. When used by downstream enterprises, they generally face problems such as slow infiltration, uneven swelling, long-term soaking, high-pressure homogenization and strong dissociation, high energy consumption, complex processes, flocculation after dispersion, poor light transmittance, and insufficient system stability.

In order to solve the long-standing pain points in the industry of ' difficult dispersion, difficult activation, and high threshold for use ' , Nanjing Tianlu Nanotechnology Co., Ltd. has carried out targeted research and development of nanocellulose microstructure control, surface modification, and pore reconstruction processes, and successfully developed nanocellulose products with high redispersibility and rapid dispersion at room temperature . There is no need for high-temperature activation, high-pressure homogenization, or long-term soaking. The fiber can be completely dissociated by relying on conventional low-speed shearing, completely solving the industry problems of high industrial application threshold, poor stability, and high processing cost of traditional nanocellulose.

2. The core technical principle of poor dispersion of traditional nanocellulose

From the analysis of the microscopic mechanism of the material, the surface of natural plant nanocellulose is rich in a large number of polar hydroxyl groups ( -OH ). During the dehydration and drying process, dense intermolecular hydrogen bonds will be formed between fibers. With the continuous loss of water, the fiber pores will collapse and the structure will become densified, eventually forming a high-strength stacked hard agglomeration structure.

This type of reunion is an irreversible hydrogen bond reunion and has three common industry problems:

1. Poor surface wettability : After drying, the fiber structure is dense, and it is difficult for water molecules to quickly penetrate into the interior of the fiber, resulting in a moist surface and a dry core inside;

2. Uneven swelling : local excessive swelling, local inactivation, and a large number of micron-sized flocs and fiber bundles appearing in the system;

3. Dissociation is extremely difficult : Conventional stirring cannot break the hydrogen bond network, and must rely on strong mechanical forces such as high-pressure homogenization, high-speed shearing, and ultrasonic crushing, which results in high energy consumption and strong equipment dependence.

It is precisely because of the dispersion performance shortcomings of traditional products that most companies on the market can only supply low-concentration liquid slurries, resulting in extremely high transportation costs, short storage periods, easy freezing at low temperatures, and large losses during long-distance transportation, which seriously limits the popularization of nanocellulose.

3. Nanjing Tianlu Rapidly Dispersing Nanocellulose｜Core Modification Technology Mechanism

Nanjing Tianlu Nanotechnology is based on years of accumulation of nanocellulose dissociation, modification, film formation, and rheology control technology. Through three core technologies: microscopic pore reconstruction + controllable regulation of surface functional groups + low-temperature gradient drying process , it solves the problem of nanocellulose drying and agglomeration from the root cause, and creates a series of high-performance nanocellulose products that can be quickly activated at room temperature and efficiently dispersed at low shear.

Core technology breakthroughs are mainly reflected in three dimensions:

1. Construction of porous and loose microstructure

By optimizing the fiber dissociation process and accurately controlling the fiber aspect ratio and fiber arrangement, a large number of micron-level breathable pores are retained during the drying and molding stage to avoid overall collapse of the pores. The loose porous structure allows water molecules to instantly penetrate into the fiber, achieving all-round, uniform and rapid infiltration, eliminating the problems of dry core and local inactivation.

2. Controllable weakening of fiber hydrogen bond association strength

Without destroying the basic properties of the material and without introducing harmful additives, the surface hydroxyl association strength is moderately regulated through a precise surface modification process to weaken the irreversible bonding force between fibers during the drying process. It allows solid products to maintain a stable molded state during long-term storage, and hydrogen bonds can be quickly dissociated when exposed to water, achieving the effect of instant dissolution and rapid dispersion when exposed to water .

3. Gradient low temperature preservation drying process

Segmented low-temperature gradient drying technology is used to replace traditional high-temperature rapid drying to avoid problems such as fiber carbonization, structural hardening, and functional group failure caused by high temperatures. It retains the original nanostructure and activity of nanofibers to the greatest extent, ensuring that the nanometer-level single fiber state can be perfectly restored after water dispersion again.

4. Core performance advantages of Tianlu’s rapidly dispersing nanocellulose (industry differentiation)

Compared with ordinary nanocellulose products on the market, Nanjing Tianlu's fast-dispersing CNF has significant industrialization advantages and can truly realize industrial application with low threshold, low energy consumption, high stability and high efficiency .

1. Extremely fast infiltration at room temperature, no need for soaking activation

Ordinary tap water / pure water can quickly moisten and penetrate at room temperature. There is no need to soak for 2-4 hours in advance, and no heating or preheating is required. The incoming water swells quickly and is evenly activated, greatly shortening the production and batching process.

2. Low shear for complete dispersion, no need for high-end equipment

Conventional stirring and low-speed emulsification equipment can achieve complete dispersion, without the need for high-pressure homogenizers, high-speed dispersers, or ultrasonic crushing equipment. It greatly reduces enterprise equipment investment, energy consumption costs and labor costs, and is suitable for mass production of small and medium-sized production lines.

3. High dispersion quality, no flocculation, no particles, and excellent light transmittance

After dispersion, the system is uniform and transparent, with no fiber clusters visible to the naked eye, no suspended particles, and no caking residue. The fibers are evenly dissociated into a nanoscale single fiber network, which restores to the greatest extent all the core properties of nanocellulose such as thickening, thixotropy, suspension, anti-sag, film formation, and reinforcement.

4. Solid dry product storage, significantly reducing storage and transportation costs

It is supplied in the form of high-density solid dry sheets. Compared with liquid slurry, the volume is compressed 8-15 times, warehousing is minimal, and transportation costs are greatly reduced. At the same time, it completely solves the problems of liquid slurry with short shelf life, easy mildew, easy delamination, low temperature freeze damage, etc., and can be stored stably for a long time.

5. The system has strong compatibility and is suitable for fully water-based formulas

The rapidly dispersed nanocellulose colloid has a mild pH value, a pure system, and no residual impurities. It is well compatible with most water-based resins, anionic, nonionic additives, and pigment fillers. It does not flocculate, separate, or return to coarseness, and is suitable for various fine formulation systems.

5. Main industrial application scenarios of rapidly dispersing nanocellulose

Relying on excellent redispersion performance and stable material properties, Nanjing Tianlu's rapidly dispersing nanocellulose can be widely adapted to high-end applications in many industries, significantly reducing the threshold for new materials to be implemented, and accelerating the replacement of traditional chemical materials by biomass nanomaterials.

1. Water-based paint and water-based ink industry

Used as a green rheology additive, anti-sag additive, and suspension stabilizer. After rapid dispersion, it can accurately adjust the viscosity of the system, improve the thixotropy of the paint, prevent pigment settlement, improve the construction effect of spraying and painting, and replace traditional chemical additives such as bentonite and cellulose ether.

2. High-end daily chemical and skin care gel system

Pure plant-based raw materials, no chemical residues, high biocompatibility. After rapid dispersion, a transparent gel system is formed, which is used to suspend particles, improve skin feel, thicken and stabilize the system, and is suitable for clean label products such as essences, cleaning gels, and facial mask base materials.

3. Environmentally friendly and degradable composite materials

It is quickly and evenly dispersed in the resin system to build a dense nano-enhanced network to improve the tensile strength, toughness, and tear resistance of the film. It can be used in scenarios such as degradable membrane materials, waterproof barrier coatings, and paper functional modification.

4. Fine chemicals, agrochemicals, and biomedicine fields

It is used in suspension preparations, sustained-release carriers, and medical gel base materials. It is evenly dispersed, has a stable system, is safe and non-toxic, and meets the stringent purity and stability requirements in high-end fields.

6. Industry value: Rapid dispersion performance promotes the true industrialization and popularization of nanocellulose

For a long time, the nanocellulose industry has been in the embarrassing situation of ' excellent material performance, but extremely difficult to implement . Difficulty in dispersion, difficulty in activation, high equipment requirements, and high cost of use are the core pain points that hinder the popularization of the industry.'

Nanjing Tianlu Nanotechnology Co., Ltd. has completely broken through the dispersion technical bottleneck of traditional nanocellulose through independent modification process innovation. Rapidly dispersing nanocellulose not only retains the core advantages of the material's green biodegradability, high strength, and high network structure, but also achieves five major industrial breakthroughs: process simplification, equipment cost reduction, energy consumption reduction, quality upgrade, and convenient storage and transportation .

In the future, as the replacement of green new materials accelerates, nanocellulose products with rapid dispersion, low threshold for use, and high stability will gradually replace traditional chemical additives and non-environmentally friendly thickening materials and become the standard green substrate for coatings, daily chemicals, composite new materials, environmentally friendly packaging and other industries, providing lower cost, higher performance, safer and more environmentally friendly nanomaterial solutions for various industries.