Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

This NSERC RTI application requests funds to purchase a Process 11 twin-screw extruder, which is urgently required to support a variety of novel research applications at the University of Manitoba. Extrusion is one of the most-used methods of production in the polymer industry, and is the primary technique for blending, compounding, and incorporating additives into polymer mixtures. These processes find applications in a wide range of industries, including food-packaging materials. Training in the use of, and experience with, an advanced extruder is essential for all HQP working with polymers. Dr. David Levin and Dr. Song Liu in the Department of Biosystems Engineering will use the Process 11 twin-screw extruder to develop smart food-packaging materials consisting of blended biodegradable polymers with enhanced physical and thermal properties, with the addition of natural antioxidants, antimicrobial, and/or pH-sensitive compounds. Dr. Derek Oliver, in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Director of the Manitoba Institute for Materials (MIM) will use the Process 11 extruder to explore the use of blended biodegradable polymers as electrical insulators, and study their non-destructive degradation processes at the micron scale. Although a twin-screw extruder is located in the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Manitoba, it is used exclusively for food applications, and cannot be used for the blending of different polymer types with the addition of bioactive compounds. HQP currently working on these materials rely on a collaboration with a Professor at Queens University, which has resulted in significant delays in progress towards research objectives for each of the co-applicants and their students. Both undergraduate and graduate students are unable to complete experiments in a timely manner, which is affecting their ability to collect data, publish their results, produce high quality Theses, and graduate. Acquisition of the Process 11 twin-screw extruder will greatly benefit the researchers and their HQP by significantly improving their ability to compound different polymers types that normally would not be compatible. The Process 11 extruder will enable the development of biodegradable food-packaging materials, as well as electrical insulation materials, that are not sourced from petrochemical origins. The manufacture of these materials will also enable investigations of biodegradation and the development of controlled degradation processes that are needed to close the circle at their end-of-life, fulfilling the vision of a truly sustainable polymer industry. The Process 11 Twin-screw extruder will greatly facilitate training of undergraduate students, graduate students, and Postdoctoral Fellows in polymer-based material sciences, and accelerate the development of smart, biodegradable food-packaging materials, as well as advanced electrical insulators.