Hemicelluloses-based Microgel and its applications

Hemicellulose is the second most abundant renewable polysaccharide, and the HMCbased microgels have great potential in the application in various industries of surface coating, oil recovery, printing, and diaper industry. In this project, the HMC obtained from FPInnovations’ novel fractionation process will be used as the raw material to prepare HMC-based microgels. The fundamental properties, including the rheological behavior, water absorption, swelling degree, will be determined. The second aspect is to determine the potential applications of the prepared HMC- based microgel, such as coating, ink/printing, oil recovery, diaper. There is a strong market demand develop natural polymer- based microgel, not only because of the rising oil prices but also due to structural versatility, biocompatibility, and sustainability of bio-based products. Hemicelluloses (HMC) are renewable resource of biopolymers, and they have been the focus of growing attention in the context of bio-economy and sustainable development.

Faculty Supervisor:

Drs. Yonghao Ni & Huining Xiao

Student:

Qiaozhi An

Partner:

FPInnovations

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Pulp and paper

University:

University of New Brunswick