{"id":16,"date":"2018-07-18T15:14:54","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T15:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faculty.cnr.ncsu.edu\/richardvenditti\/?page_id=16"},"modified":"2025-11-18T20:02:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T20:02:32","slug":"research-programs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/faculty.cnr.ncsu.edu\/richardvenditti\/research-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
\"Venditti<\/figure>\n\n\n
\n

New Materials from Biomass<\/h2>\n

There is greater and greater interest in reducing the dependency of the world on petroleum based industries.\u00a0\u00a0 It is thus of importance to society to develop new products and fuels from renewable bio-based sources.\u00a0\u00a0 This is not a trivial task as the reason that petroleum based materials are so prevalent currently is that petroleum based materials are currently inexpensive, widely available and effective.\u00a0 Our research has entailed investigating the use of abundant natural polymers such as cellulose, lignin and starch to produce advanced materials.\u00a0 We are interested in determining the underlying principles that dictate bio-based material behavior.\u00a0 This involves the study of the effects of composition-processing-structure on final material properties.<\/p>\n

Valuation of Waste Textiles<\/h2>\n

There is an enormous amount of textile waste generated per year.\u00a0 \u00a0We are exploring several different pathways to create valuable products from these materials.\u00a0 \u00a0In one pathway we are evaluating the use of fibers from the textiles in paper packaging and in high-loft insulating\/cushioning materials.\u00a0 \u00a0We also are evaluating the environmental and economic viability of the waste textiles to produce electricity from combustion and to serve as carbon sinks when buried in the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Life Cycle Analysis and Carbon Footprinting<\/h2>\n

As the global society moves towards a more carbon constrained climate, business and industry will ultimately have to meet customer needs in a way that generates fewer carbon emissions. Business energy efficiency and low carbon energy supply will play an important role in mitigating global climate modification- a method of implementing economically wise and environmentally significant solutions is by evaluating the \u201ccarbon footprint\u201d of products across the supply chain. Indeed, managing the carbon footprint is the next logical step for business and industry to participate in reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change. Currently, an established set of guidelines for calculating carbon footprints of products does not exist. The activities in this group are involved in developing models, data and boundary conditions to determine unbiased calculations of the carbon footprint for products and activities.<\/p>\n

Paper Recycling<\/h2>\n

Paper recycling is an important technology in the United States.\u00a0 Over one-half of the approximately 100 million tons of paper consumed in the US is recycled.\u00a0 Important advances are needed to improve the processes in recycling that dictate the quality of the product, the economics of the process and the environmental issues involved in recycling. It is of interest therefore to define the mechanisms that determine the efficiency of conventional paper recycling unit operations and to develop new methods of effective recycling.\u00a0 Our research has included studying the principles behind the following paper recycling related processes:\u00a0 agglomeration deinking, paper recycling with supercritical carbon dioxide, the removal of pressure sensitive adhesive materials with screens, the fractionation of fibers, the detection of depositable contaminants, and the reduction of strength in paper due to recycling.<\/p>\n

Green paper:<\/strong>\u00a0for a method to determine\u00a0if a paper product is recyclable<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0using standard paper recycling technology, please see the Paper Recycling section listed under Other areas, to the right.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide as a Green Solvent for Biomaterial Processing<\/h2>\n

The search for more environmentally sound technologies to replace the extensive use of organic solvents has led to the utilization of supercritical fluids (SCFs), particularly carbon dioxide.\u00a0 CO2<\/sub>\u00a0is renewable, non-toxic and non-flammable; hence, it is the most widely used solvent in SCF technologies.\u00a0 Moreover, CO2<\/sub>\u00a0attains supercritical (SC) state at relatively lower temperature and pressure (31.1\u00a0o<\/sup>C, 7.38 MPa, 72.8 atm), making it more suitable for thermally labile materials.\u00a0 Its early applications include decaffeination of coffee and tea, manufacture of hop products, and extraction of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals from agricultural materials [1, 2].\u00a0 SC CO2<\/sub>has also been shown to be a good environment for dispersion and microemulsion polymerization [3].\u00a0 In our research we have developed techniques to determine solubility of solutes in CO2<\/sub>\u00a0alone and with cosolvents as a function of temperature and pressure. The image shows our solubity view cell;\u00a0 a liquid-gas intephase can be seen in the image.\u00a0 We also have evaluated the extraction of compounds from different substrates with this technology. The use of cosolvents and surfactants to create micelles to solubilize compounds not like to be soluble in CO2<\/sub>\u00a0has been evaluated.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Microparticles Generated in Laundering:\u00a0 Generation, Aquatic Biodegradation, and Fate in Water Treatment Plants<\/h2>\n

The amount of microplastics in the ocean and their effect on marine life has been of great interest [1].\u00a0 There has been concern recently about the laundering of clothes and the generation of microplastics being released into waste waters and ending up in the ocean and lakes, see Figure [2]. \u00a0According to the study, microplastics from sediments matched polyester and acrylic fibers used in clothing.\u00a0 Further, they reported that a single garment can produce more than 1900 fibers released in the water per wash.\u00a0 These fibers were counted after filtration on filter paper.<\/p>\n

It is the objective of this proposal to define the quantity and characteristics of cotton fibers released during the laundering of garments and to compare the results to other fabrics.\u00a0 Further, this study aims to estimate the fate of these cotton fibers released in laundering during the waste water treatment process (screening, primary water treatment and secondary water treatment) as well as its degradation characteristics in oceans and lakes.\u00a0\u00a0 A short video of the\u00a0research can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Functionalized Cotton Seed Oil<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cotton seed oil is a valuable product that has reactive units that can serve as the basis for a chemical platform. We are developing fabric and paper finishes that render the materials hydrophobic, wrinkle resistant, stain resistant, and provide dry and wet strength. Green chemical methods of modifications of the oil are being used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microplastics in Paper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this research we are developing methods to detect microplastics in paper, and then evaluating the concentration and composition of the microplastics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life Cycle Analysis of Christmas Trees<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this research we are evaluating the LCA of real and artificial christmas trees. Genetic improvements to the trees are being tracked for their improvement in environmental and economic performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the Fundamentals of Biodegradability of Polymer Blends and Additives for Nonwoven Applications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this research we are spinning blends of PLA, PCL, starch and other polymers and evaluating their biodegradation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quantifying the Temporary Climate Mitigation Benefit of Biogenic Carbon in Cotton Apparel and Home Textiles Globally<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We are taking a global approach to analyzing the cooling effect of cotton products in use with respect to global warming potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the Biodegradation of Biobased Polymers that are Purported as Biodegradable Polyesters and Cotton Textile Fibers and the Time Dependent Biodegradation Residual Materials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We have been analyzing the biodegradation process in wastewater, soil and industrial compost of purported biodegradable polyesters and comparing these results to cotton and cellulose controls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanocellulose Films for Electronic Applications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We have been creating cellulose films from nanofibrillated cellulose and from regenerated cellulose (LiCl DMAC) and then printing with silver nanowires and evaluating their electronic performance and biodegradability. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Materials from Biomass There is greater and greater interest in reducing the dependency of the world on petroleum based industries.\u00a0\u00a0 It is thus of importance to society to develop new products and fuels from renewable bio-based sources.\u00a0\u00a0 This is not a trivial task as the reason that petroleum based materials are so prevalent currently…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-16","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.cnr.ncsu.edu\/richardvenditti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.cnr.ncsu.edu\/richardvenditti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.cnr.ncsu.edu\/richardvenditti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.cnr.ncsu.edu\/richardvenditti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.cnr.ncsu.edu\/richardvenditti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.cnr.ncsu.edu\/richardvenditti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":696,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.cnr.ncsu.edu\/richardvenditti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16\/revisions\/696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.cnr.ncsu.edu\/richardvenditti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}