Accelerated design of solid bio-based foams for plastics substitutes

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biotechnology
• Sustainable Polymers

Background:

• Biobased materials are crucial for replacing conventional plastics.
• Designing biobased materials with tailored mechanical properties remains a significant challenge.
• Methylcellulose-fiber composites offer a promising avenue for sustainable material development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To optimize the mechanical properties of fully biobased methylcellulose-fiber composite foams.
• To establish a rational design approach for biobased materials by linking processing, structure, and properties.
• To demonstrate the transferability of the optimization methodology to other biobased foam formulations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Bayesian optimization with Gaussian process regression to map material composition to mechanical properties.
• Employed rheological properties of liquid biofiber suspensions as fast-to-measure descriptors for foam design.
• Analyzed the low-dimensional subspace of rheological properties for efficient material design.

Main Results:

• Identified two optimal compositions for methylcellulose-fiber foams: high methylcellulose for strong closed-cell foams, and high fiber content for methylcellulose-bound fiber networks.
• Demonstrated that rheological properties effectively predict final foam mechanical properties.
• Validated the approach for rational design of biobased solid foams.

Conclusions:

• A novel Bayesian optimization approach enables the rational design of biobased foams with desired mechanical properties.
• The methodology allows for the creation of methylcellulose-fiber foams suitable as plastic replacements.
• The developed approach is transferable to a wider range of biobased foam compositions.