Flax Fiber used in Plastics, Concrete
March 23rd, 2007
This from some months ago – Flax and hemp fiber has proven to be a viable alternative to fiberglass in the manufacture of composites. To me this sounds like the higher-tech we get these days, the closer we’re getting to mud-and-straw bricks. Traveling in mountainous Huaraz, Peru this past weekend, we saw lots of adobe bricks – made from straw and mud right on the spot, they’re a great building material from a sustainability perspective. Could we eventually make consumer products out of some kind of organic resin on an organic substrate?
Related Posts: Bioplastic and Kenaf Fiber, Bamboo Fiber Shirts
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July 16th, 2007 at 1:39 am
Dear Sir,
.
I would like to ask your permission to use the image attached (from your Web site) as an illustration in educational software intended to introduce students to the materials of nature. I would, of course, acknowledge the source of the figure in the figure caption. Any preference you might have for the wording of the acknowledgement (the default is: “Image courtesy of Jeffrey Warren, http://www.Vestaldesign.com”
Yours, Mike Ashby
July 17th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Hi, Mike – please direct image requests to blog@vestaldesign.com. Thanks!
November 27th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Dear Sir,
I am currently in my third year of my degree course in Southampton, England. I am testing differing materials in concrete, the durablity, the hardness and the flexibility that the additive achieve. Is there any chance of being sent a sample of Flax Fiber for me to use?
Many Thanks
Dave
December 10th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Hello Dave –
We do not produce this material, unfortunately.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Dear sir,
I am currently in second year of my Msc degree.Do you help me by providing some literature about flax fibre and retting process for my thesis purpose.
November 30th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
hi,
is there anything else that flax can be used for?
im doing a study on flax in one of my classes
thanx
Cola
January 16th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Hi,
Organic resins and substrates are already being worked on:
http://www.engineerlive.com/Design-Engineer/Materials_Processes/Wood-based_plastic_is_safe_enough_for_toys/21241/
see also:
http://www.mirelplastics.com
There is also a growing demand for other bio-resins such as PLA. As new resins are developed they will ultimately be blended with natural additves like flax, hemp, and coir fibers, wood flour, etc. The company I work for is already working on finding materials we can use to reduce or eliminate the amount of oil/natural gas sourced plastic with sustainable alternatives for certain products. The current problem has more to do with performance, cost, and availability than desire on our part. One big issue is also that the traditional plastic suppliers have a lot of capital tied up in petro based plastics manufacture so there is a natural disincentive to developing these new, bio-plastics. The government could help by working with the industry to figure out how to offset the disincentives and encourage more research and development. This field is still in it’s infancy but it is starting to ramp up. Imagine how much plastic would be saved if we added just 20% of sustainable additives to every plastic product.
Thanks,
Mark
April 29th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
need product that is an equal to roadcem made by powercem
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Hello Manuel,
Let me know when you find the roadcem alternative. We are looking for that too.
April 9th, 2010 at 1:44 am
Hi Manuel and Walter,
We are looking for a RoadCem alternative too. Let me know if you have any success.