Nanollose Ltd (ASX:NC6) has conducted its first pilot-scale processing of raw microbial cellulose into material suitable for use as a high tenacity lyocell, known as nullarbor™.
The patented process, which uses streams from various large-scale industries, including food and agriculture, can produce ‘tree-free’ cellulose, with obvious environmental benefits.
Cellulose is the hidden polymer building block that forms a huge part of items used in everyday life such as clothing, paper and hygiene products.
The successful trial brings the company a step closer to commercialising the trademarked nullarbor™ fibre.
“I’m greatly encouraged that the technical objectives of the pilot-scale processing were met,” Nanollose executive chairman Dr Wayne Best said.
The achievement of this goal significantly reduces a key risk of the pilot program.
Green fibres
Nanollose, which commercialises scalable technology to manufacture fibres with minimal environmental impact, uses an eco-friendly fermentation process to produce materials that could become a sustainable alternative to conventional plant-derived cellulose.
In January 2021, Nanollose filed a joint patent application with Birla Cellulose, for a high tenacity, tree-free lyocell made from microbial cellulose.
The resultant nullarbor™ fibre is finer than silk and significantly stronger than conventional lyocell that is traditionally produced from wood pulp.
Penultimate step
The final milestone is to conduct a successful pilot spin of the processed microbial cellulose into fibre – a step industry and investors alike will be watching with interest.
A glitch for the company, which may hold up the final fibre spin until 2022 in the worst case, was the identification of a small quantity of fine metal particles introduced during the drying process. These must be removed, or the batch replaced, before spinning can commence.
The company is confident that the source of the metal particles has been identified and that it relates to an isolated event from the drying equipment which can be readily avoided in the future.
“While the appearance of metal in the processed MC is unfortunate, the meeting of the technical objectives is the more significant and enduring outcome of the trial, and enables us to proceed with even greater confidence,” Dr Best said.