Progress 07/01/17 to 02/28/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The targeted audience for transparent wood and its market opportunity presented in replacing current transparent materials. Because transparent wood combines (and enhances) the strength benefits of wood with the ability to be transparent, a new wave of building designs could be unlocked by this technology. Therefore, Inventwood believes there is potential for penetration within multiple market sectors for several reasons. First transparent wood is a superior material - a safer, better insulating, and more sustainable one- correspond to areas of both deep and broad market demand. For example, because more thermally-insulating windows generally translate to both energy and money savings for their users, significant commercial investment has already been conducted in this area, which can be viewed as a proxy for transparent wood demand. Second, it is clear there is sufficient interest for this material among consumers based on news coverage; transparent wood has been featured as articles in major publications such as CNN, The New York Times, and Business Insider. Finally, and most importantly, InventWood has already been contacted by several large companies with interest in commercializing this technology. Table below illustrates examples of where there is market opportunity for transparent wood - along with the industries whose customers have contacted InventWood with expressed interest for commercialization. Industry Opportunities for Transparent Wood. Industries in which companies have approached InventWood with commercialization interest are labeled with *. Industry Global Glass Market Customer Types Use Examples Aerospace* ~$1,600 M Airplane component manufacturers Airplane windows Lavatory components Automotive* ~$1,200 M (coated flat glass only) Vehicle component manufacturers Vehicle windows Interior components Building / Construction* ~$26,600 M (coated flat glass only) Window manufacturers, building material suppliers Windows and skylights Transparent walls Decorative flooring Electronics ~$500 M+ (IW estimates) Manufacturers of cell phones, laptop, pads, play stations etc. Display covers Wearable electronics Furniture* ~$250 M (IW estimates) Furniture manufacturers Furniture and components Table tops, surfaces Furniture decorations Glassware / Containers* ~$52,700 M (all container glass) Glassware / kitchenware manufacturers • Kitchenware • Product containers Interior Design* ~$450 M (IW estimates) Flooring, ceiling panels, cabinet manufacturers, etc. Flooring / ceiling tiles Cabinets / built-in shelves Picture / mirror frames Solar Energy ~$663 M (coated flat glass only) Solar panel manufacturers • Solar panels InventWood estimates that building-related commercialization (e.g. windows and transparent structural walls) is the largest industry for transparent wood. Moreover, across the world, flat pane 'glass' windows are generally regarded as necessities in a structure in order to allow natural light and support ventilation. According to estimates, this type of glass has a market value of approximately $96.5 B worldwide (with North America representing $36.7 B) and currently has experienced growth rates of 5.9%, a rate expected to continue past 2020. In terms of production units, this corresponds to approximately 9.2 billion square meters or 70 million metric tons. That said, there are significant challenges in the short-term to pursuing the construction industry. First, there are higher regulatory barriers to entry for structural components in the form of building code adoption processes, which can take years to complete. Second, given the nascent stage of commercialization for transparent wood, it is expected that there will not be a cost advantage for the first few years over traditional pane glass, whose production has been optimized given its long history, leading to low prices and thin margins. Thus, InventWood will also explore other market segments to sell transparent wood in niches that are less price-sensitive and have lower barriers to entry, such as premium furniture and interior design components (such as flooring and cabinetry). These other opportunities may provide immediate funding for InventWood as it seeks to tackle the primary intended use in structural applications. So far, InventWood has received many inquiries and expressions of interest about transparent wood from companies including Evonik Cyro LLC, GS4C, Spectron Enterprises Ltd, ODL, and Violet River Inc. Evonik Cyro LLC and Spectron Enterprises Ltd would like to be customers or development partner with InventWood to enable the application of Transparent wood as architectural glass and windows. GS4C expressed their interests of becoming a partner in product development, and Violet River Inc contacted InventWood for potential collaboration opportunities as investor. In addition, Armstrong, a company producing specially decorated ceiling and interior has expressed interested in transparent wood with visible rings wanting to establish collaboration. In addition, the InventWood team has spoken to approximately ten other large corporations who have raised the possibility of investing in InventWood. These companies are generally looking to horizontally integrate (chemical / materials companies), vertically integrate (a construction materials firm), or ensure a steady supply is directed to their purposes (e.g. a large oil/gas conglomerate). An ideal investment partner would be one that provides not only funding but guidance, connections/introductions, and other resources that will support InventWood's success in commercializing its products. This partner, or partners, would be composed of experienced professionals with expertise in relevant areas such as new product introductions, venture financing, and start-up organizational formation. Furthermore, an ideal partner would be understanding in recognizing the complexity of introducing new materials into the market but also share the InventWood management team's urgent drive to commercialize its offerings. Moreover, this partner could also provide direct and honest feedback when recommending changes to InventWood's strategy or execution. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This USDA SBIR Phase I project provided valuable opportunities for training and professional development for two postdoctoral researchers and one undergraduate level researcher in University of Maryland, College Park. The postdoctoral researchers work in parallel with the undergraduate researcher in laboratory and provide assistance using their experience and expertise. The postdoctoral researchers can be considered as individuals with advanced professional skills and experience. During the project period they assist the undergraduate researcher in attaining greater proficiency working in laboratory to make transparent wood samples. The professional development activities participated by researchers include: 1. 2018 Maryland Day in University of Maryland, College Park 2. 2019 ACS National Spring Meeting: PI gave a poster presentation and spoke with many interested individuals concerning transparent wood. 3. 2019 Innovate Maryland Conference in the Hotel: Our products have been displayed in a booth. InventWood CEO and PI talked with people expressing interests. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Transparent wood is a thermal-insulating glass-substituent that can reduce the heat losses through single-panel glass windows. The transparent wood has a higher impact strength that eliminates the significant safety concerns in glass. Furthermore, transparent wood is more environmentally-friendly than glass. To use transparent wood in energy efficient buildings, we need to overcome two major challenges: 1. Transparent wood manufacturing process need to be scalable to meet the large size requirements; 2. The optical and thermal performance should be comparable or even better than glass. The original method invented utilizes wood pieces cut perpendicular to the growth direction, limited by the diameter of the tree. We overcame this size challenge by using a swiss-roll cutting method. We successfully demonstrated a 4-inch by 4-inch transparent wood, optimized the performance, refined cost analysis, and connected with industrial partners. Goal 1: Demonstration of processes for fabrication of 4-inch by 4-inch transparent wood. 1) Major experiments conducted: We obtained 4-inch by 4-inch basswood board by cutting a tree trunk along the tree growth direction. The delignification process was performed by immersing the original wood film in chemical solution until it was completely white. The content of lignin dramatically reduced from 21.5% to 1.6% after the chemical treatment, suggesting the almost complete removal of lignin. After chemical treatment step, the wood become more porous and the cell walls much thinner (~4 μm to ~1.5 μm). After that, clear epoxy resin was vacuum infiltrated into the delignified wood framework. 2) Data collected: Data collected includes transparent wood and images. 3) Summary: To make large-size transparent wood we adopted the swiss roll cutting method. The swiss roll method spin-slices the tree trunk parallel to the wood's growth direction resulting in much larger wood slices. A successful demonstration of 4-inch by 4-inch sample shows the feasibility of the swiss roll cutting method to be used in scale-up fabrications. 4) Key outcomes: We used swiss roll cutting method to produce large size wood slices and refined related chemical treatment and polymer infiltration processes to produce 4-inch by 4-inch transparent wood. Goal 2. Achieve performance of transparent wood including ~92% transmission of visible light, light guiding feature, good thermal insulation, and mechanical stability. Objective-1: Optimization of transparent wood with high optical transmittance and low thermal conductivity. 1) Major experiments conducted: Optimization of transparent wood production were performed by adjusting the delignifying processes for different types of wood and by fine tuning the polymer infiltration processes. Most of the wood species could be chemically treated to remove most of the lignin. The polymer infiltration process determines the resulting wood transmittance. Experiments suggested with the same vacuum and duration, some species have channels easier for epoxy to be fully infiltrated thus appeared more homogeneous and more transparent. Optimization of transparent wood with low thermal conductivity has been achieved (~0.14 W/mK). 2) Data collected: The optimized transparent wood can transmit over 90% of visible light with haze value slightly above 50%. Evaluation of the thermal conductivity also showed that transparent wood presented much lower thermal conductivity (~0.14 W/mK) than glass. 3) Summary: One-step delignification process using peroxide was developed to minimize the cost and environmental impact while maintain efficiency. 4) Key outcomes: Processes of transparent wood production have been refined to achieve low thermal conductivity and high transmittance. The optimized materials and processes also lead to reduced energy, time, and cost. Objective-2: Multi-layer structures of transparent wood for higher mechanical performance and long-term stability. 1) Major experiments conducted: Multi-layer transparent wood samples have been fabricated with anti-UV plastic films, and super hydrophobic coatings on both sides. Long-term stability under UV exposure has been tested by using in lab solar simulator, up to ten suns for eight hours. 2) Data collected: Multi-layer transparent wood has been made. The performance of the multi-layer ones has been tested. 3) Summary: Single-layer transparent wood without UV protection turned yellow under the illumination of the solar simulator due to epoxy reaction under UV. The transparent wood sample with anti-UV films attached to both sides is more stable (less yellow) under accelerated UV stability test than the sample without the films. The anti-UV films also increase the strength of the sample. Transparent wood has been tested in water for six months with no visible cellulose swelling. The super hydrophobic chemical coated transparent wood are stable without swelling till the end of the program. 4) Key outcomes: Multi-layer transparent wood was made to improve the environmental stability. Each of the outdoor circumstances including UV light, moisture can be addressed by surface treatment. Objective-3: Thermal management, optical performance, and impact resistance evaluations of transparent wood toward improving building energy efficiency. 1) Major experiments conducted: A series of characterization tests including optical properties and thermal management capability have been performed on transparent wood fabricated using scalable swiss-roll-cut wood. Transparent wood from different sources and different fabricating process express similar thermal conductivity (~0.14 W/mK) which is much lower than glass. The optical transmittance and haze were further optimized through tuning polymer infiltration process. The impact resistance of transparent wood has been evaluated and observed less shatter than glass. 2) Data collected: The performance of transparent wood is evaluated considering transmittance, haze, the thermal conductivity, and impact resistance. 3) Summary: The thermal conductivity of the transparent wood is measured 0.14 W/mK. The transmittance is over 90% in small and thin samples that were cut perpendicular to the tree growing direction. Larger samples prepared along the tree growth direction have lower transmittance at 80%. The haze value for the samples were above 50%. Although less hazy samples (haze <10%) can resemble clear glass better, hazy transparent wood has its desired applications replacing for example frosted glass. 4) Key outcomes: The key outcome for this goal can be defined as a change-in-knowledge. Due to the lower thermal conductivity of the transparent wood than glass, it can reduce thermal leaks from indoor to outdoor in winter or the other way around in summer. Thus saving air conditioning energy consumed in the building. Goal 3. Evaluations of transparent wood for different applications Objective-4: Cost and scalability analysis for the fabrication process. 1) Major activities completed: We refined cost analysis based on the larger wood pieces and larger quantities of chemicals and polymers needed and the manufacturing cost in making 4-inch by 4-inch transparent wood board. 2) Data collected: Cost analysis table was made according to the optimized producing process based on the materials and chemicals used to make 4-inch by 4-inch transparent wood board. 3) Summary: Cost of making 4-inch by 4-inch transparent wood was evaluated. 4) Key outcomes: Cost of making transparent wood determined. Objective-5: Evaluations with industry partners for potential commercialization. 1) Major activities completed: We exchanged emails and NDAs with many companies to establish joint research partnerships. Due to their different specific needs, we continue to make samples and ship samples for feedbacks and evaluations. Companies that we are maintaining conversations with include Evonik Cyro, GS4C, and Armstrong. 2)- 4) N/A
Publications
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Progress 07/01/17 to 06/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:The targeted audience for transparent wood exists in its two market sectors, first in replacing incumbent transparent materials in ways that are currently used, and second, facilitating for uses that are not possible with current materials. The flat glass market is fairly well-defined around the world accounting for 92 billion square meters or 70 million metric tons produced each year. In most cases, the InventWood team believes that Transparent wood could replace much of this glass market with a wood-based product. One key benefit of this technology is that little would be required of end-users with respect to adoption behavior. Like current glass, transparent wood represents a solid, transparent material that can be installed in a similar fashion. Because transparent wood combines (and enhances) the strength benefits of wood with the ability to be transparent, a new wave of building designs could be unlocked by this technology. The markets for transparent wood are prioritized below: Priority and Industry Construction and Building Windows Automotive Windows Advanced Furniture Components Electronics Screens, other parts There are more opportunities that could be enabled by this technology such as glassware and environmental objects for babies and children. Many parents today are increasingly wary of the chemical components of plastic materials and glass materials are an inherent safety hazard for young children. In contrast, transparent wood may enable a new material that possesses the benefits of safety and chemical stability. Industry Direct Customer End User Use Examples Building / Construction Window manufacturers, building material suppliers Residential and commercial owners and tenants Structural windows Transparent walls Decorative flooring Interior Design Glass makers, cabinet manufacturers, etc. Residential and commercial owners and tenants Mirrors Painting frames Cabinet doors Automotive Vehicle component manufacturers (suppliers to car manufacturers) Vehicle purchasers/users Vehicle windows Interior components / paneling Aerospace Airplane component manufacturers Aerospace users Airplane windows Lavatory components Furniture Furniture manufacturers Furniture purchasers/users Furniture and furniture components Table tops, surfaces Furniture decorations Kitchenware / Glassware Kitchenware manufacturers Individual and commercial consumers Cups / Glasses Utensils Baby Goods / Toys Manufacturers of baby items and toys Young children (via parents/guardians) Toys Baby bottles Electronics Manufacturers of cell phones, laptop, pads, play stations etc. Individual and commercial consumers Display covers Wearable electronics So far, InventWood has received many inquiries and expressions of interest about transparent wood from companies including PERI GmbH, Evonik Cyro LLC, GS4C, Spectron Enterprises Ltd, ODL, and Violet River Inc. For example, Evonik Cyro LLC and Spectron Enterprises Ltd would like to be customers or development partner with InventWood to enable the application of Transparent wood as architectural glass and windows. GS4C expressed their interests of becoming a partner in product development, and Violet River Inc contacted InventWood for potential collaboration opportunities as investor. In addition, a company producing specially decorated ceiling and interior remodeling named Armstrong has contacted us interested in transparent wood with visible rings wanting to establish collaboration with InventWood. Changes/Problems:This USDA Phase I project has been extended for a year due to funding not available for the first five months. We will apply for Phase II end of February 2019. No cost extension has been granted. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We would like to optimize efficient and effective polymer infiltration process for improved optical property. We would like to make more transparent wood samples that are four inches by four inches in size and possibly standardize the procedure to make the samples the same in size and thickness. We would like to update or refine the cost analysis toward making large pieces of transparent wood. We would like to conduct accelerated aging test and access the long-term mechanical stability. We would like to work with outside companies interested in joint development toward specific applications in real world.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Glass windows are low in energy efficiency due to the high thermal conductivity of glass. They also present significant safety concerns as building materials due to their brittle nature. Transparent wood is a thermal-insulating transparent glass-substituent that can potentially reduce the heat losses through single-panel glass windows. In addition, its unique light-guiding feature leads to a uniform and comfortable indoor lighting without the glare effects experienced by most glass materials. The transparent wood has a higher impact strength that eliminates the significant safety concerns in glass. Furthermore, transparent wood is more environmentally-friendly than glass. To use transparent wood in energy efficient buildings, we need to overcome two major challenges: 1. The manufacturing process of transparent wood need to be scalable to meet the large size/dimension requirements; 2. The optical and thermal performance should be comparable or even better than glass. The original method invented by Dr. Liangbing Hu utilizes wood pieces that are cut perpendicular to the growth direction of the tree. The size of the transparent wood fabricated using these raw wood pieces are limited by the diameter of the tree. In recent progress, we overcame this size challenge by adopting a swiss-roll cutting method and fine-tuning the polymer infiltration process to maintain the transparency and haze. We successfully demonstrated a 4-inch by 4-inch transparent wood sample using all scalable process. We also evaluated the optical and thermal performance of the transparent wood made using the new method. Goal 1: Demonstration of processes for fabrication of 4-inch by 4-inch transparent wood using all scalable processes. 1) Major experiments conducted: We obtained 4-inch by 4-inch basswood board by cutting a tree trunk along the tree growth direction. The delignification process was performed by immersing the original wood film in chemical solution until it was completely white. The content of lignin dramatically reduced from 21.5% to 1.6% after the chemical treatment, suggesting the almost complete removal of lignin. After delignification, the wood structures become more porous and the cell walls much thinner (from ~4 μm to ~1.5 μm). Then, we infiltrated clear epoxy resin into the delignified wood framework. 2) Data collected: Data collected includes transparent wood and images. 3) Summary: To make large-size transparent wood we adopted the swiss roll cutting method, which is large-scale fabrication method in industry. The swiss roll method spin-slices the tree trunk parallel to the wood's growth direction resulting in much larger wood slices. A successful demonstration of 4-inch by 4-inch sample shows the feasibility of the swiss roll cutting method to be used in scale-up fabrications. 4) Key outcomes: We adopted new cutting method to produce large size wood slices and refined related process to maintain high transparency of the transparent wood. Goal 2. Achieve performance of transparent wood including ~92% transmission of visible light, light guiding feature, good thermal insulation, and mechanical stability. Objective-1: Optimization of transparent wood with high optical transmittance and low thermal conductivity. 1) Major experiments conducted: Optimization of transparent wood production were performed by adjusting the delignifying processes for different types of wood, and by optimizing the polymer infiltration processes. 2) Data collected: Processes of transparent wood production have been refined. 3) Summary: Optimization of transparent wood with low thermal conductivity has been achieved (~0.14 W/mK). One-step delignification process using peroxide was developed to minimize the cost and environmental impact while maintain efficiency. The optimized transparent wood can transmit over 90% of visible light with haze value over 50%. The polymer infiltration process can be further optimized to improve optical property. 4) Key outcomes: Processes of transparent wood production have been refined to achieve low thermal conductivity and high transmittance. The optimized materials and processes also lead to reduced energy, time, and cost. Objective-2: Multi-layer structures of transparent wood for higher mechanical performance and long-term stability. 1) Major experiments conducted: Multi-layer transparent wood samples have been fabricated with glass plates, anti-UV plastic films, and super hydrophobic coatings on both sides. Long-term stability under UV exposure has been tested by using in lab solar simulator, up to ten suns for eight hours. 2) Data collected: Multi-layer transparent wood has been made. The performance of the multi-layer ones has been tested. 3) Summary: Single-layer transparent wood without UV protection turned yellow under the illumination of the solar simulator due to epoxy reaction under UV. The transparent wood samples with glass plates attached on both sides are stronger which is able to withstand more mechanical shock. The transparent wood sample with anti-UV films attached to both sides is more stable (less yellow) under accelerated UV stability test than the sample without the films. The anti-UV films also increase the strength of the sample. Transparent wood has been tested in water for six months with no visible cellulose swelling. The super hydrophobic chemical coated transparent wood can be stable for longer than six months. 4) Key outcomes: Multi-layer transparent wood was made to improve the environmental stability. Each of the outdoor circumstances including UV light, moisture, and mechanical shock can be addressed by surface treatment. Objective-3: Thermal and optical performance evaluations of transparent wood. 1) Major experiments conducted: A series of characterization tests including optical properties and thermal management capability have been performed on transparent wood fabricated using scalable swiss-roll-cut wood. Transparent wood from different sources and different fabricating process express similar thermal conductivity which is much lower than glass. The optical transmittance and haze can be further optimized through tuning polymer infiltration process. 2) Data collected: The performance of transparent wood is evaluated considering transmittance, haze, and the thermal conductivity. 3) Summary: The thermal conductivity of the transparent wood is measured 0.14 W/mK which is much lower than glass. The transmittance is over 90% in small and thin samples that were cut perpendicular to the tree growing direction. Larger samples prepared along the tree growth direction have lower transmittance at around 80%. The haze value for the samples were all over 50%. Although less hazy samples (haze <10%) can resemble clear glass better, hazy transparent wood has its desired applications replacing for example frosted glass. 4) Key outcomes: The key outcome for this goal can be defined as a change-in-knowledge. Due to the lower thermal conductivity of the transparent wood than glass, it can reduce thermal leaks from indoor to outdoor in winter or the other way around in summer. Goal 3. Evaluations of transparent wood for different applications Objective-4: Cost and scalability analysis for the fabrication process. 1) Major activities completed: We refined cost analysis based on the larger wood pieces and larger quantities of chemicals and polymers needed and the manufacturing cost in making large transparent wood board. Potential scalability was evaluated in the first goal up to 4-inch by 4-inch. 2-4) N/A Objective-5: Evaluations with industry partners for potential commercialization. 1) Major activities completed: We exchanged emails and NDAs with companies to establish joint research partnerships. Due to their different specific needs, we continue to make samples and ship samples for feedbacks and evaluations. Companies that we are maintaining conversations with include Evonik Cyro, GS4C, and Armstrong. 2-4) N/A
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Jiang, F.; Li, T.; Luo, W.; Gong, A.; Hu, L. Wood Based Nanotechnologies toward Sustainability, Advanced Materials, 30, 1703453 2018.
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