Recycling Paper-Plastic laminate coffee cups using a Single-Disk Refiner: Energy requirements and recovered fiber quality.

Over 64 billion paper-plastic laminate (PPL) coffee cups are consumed between the United States and Canada annually, the majority accumulating in landfills due to a hydrophobic plastic inner-lining. Recycling can mitigate environmental damage and provide economic value from repurposed products. We found that standard repulping methods were insufficient to separate fiber from plastic due to the low intensity of treatment.

Encapsulation of T4 bacteriophage in electrospun poly(ethylene oxide)/cellulose diacetate fibers.

Phage therapy is a potentially beneficial approach to food preservation and storage. Sustained delivery of bacteriophage can prevent bacterial growth on contaminated food surfaces. Using coaxial electrospinning bacteriophage can be encapsulated in electrospun fibers with high viability.

Tuning the morphology of cellulose acetate gels by manipulating the mechanism of phase separation.

The effect of dihydric alcohol (nonsolvent) addition on the rheological and microstructural behavior of cellulose acetate (CA) in a ternary CA, N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), nonsolvent system was investigated. Increasing the dihydric alcohol concentration led to enhanced steady shear viscosity and dynamic viscoelastic properties that were dependent on CA concentration. Changing the dihydric alcohol from 1,2-ethanediol to 1,4-butanediol and 1,6-hexanediol increased the moduli and decreased the concentration of nonsolvent at which the sol-gel transition occurred.

Effect of hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions on the rheological behavior and microstructure of a ternary cellulose acetate system.

The effect of hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions on the rheological and microstructural behavior of cellulose acetate (CA) in a ternary CA, N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), nonsolvent (alcohol) system was examined. Increasing nonsolvent concentration increased the viscosity and dynamic viscoelastic properties of the system. At a critical nonsolvent concentration, a sol-gel transition was observed, which was dependent on nonsolvent structure.