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A manufacturing process developed by Bradford researchers has revolutionised the way endodontists perform root canal treatments. When coated with a hydrophilic polymer, the highly-filled hygroscopic material has enabled UK company DRFP to develop SmartPoint — a new endodontic technique that dramatically reduces failure rates of root canal treatments from 11-30% over five years to approximately 1%, and gives lower levels of post-operative pain when compared with conventional techniques. The technology has won three awards for innovation and DRFP has expanded significantly, with a dedicated production facility and sales team offering visits to dentists to demonstrate the benefits of the technology.
Initial research into polymer nanocomposites and their formation took place at Strathclyde from 2000 - 2010. This was followed by a collaboration with the world's largest manufacturer of composite kitchen sinks, Carron Phoenix Limited, through a 6-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) which resulted in a successful new production process of its high-end synthetic granite kitchen sinks. This led to £4 million of capital investment in new production facilities at their Falkirk site, enabling the company to sustain its leading position in the designer kitchen sink market and retain its workforce of over 400 employees in central Scotland, including the 170 workers in the composite sink division in Falkirk. Within the REF period, the research has led to the manufacture and sale of in excess of one million kitchen sinks, generating sales revenue in excess of over £50M and supporting the UK economy.
Carbon8 Systems (C8S) was founded on joint research between UCL and the University of Greenwich. The company has since developed a technology known as Accelerated Carbonation, which helps to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by using carbon dioxide gas to treat waste materials and form artificial aggregate. In January 2013, C8S completed the first commercial plant for treating municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) fly ashes, designed to produce 1,000 tonnes per day of aggregate. Masonry products company Lignacite has also benefited commercially. It has used C8S's aggregate to develop an award-winning building block that captures more carbon dioxide than is emitted during its manufacture. Carbon8 Systems and its offshoot company Carbon8 Aggregates currently employ 11 people.
Research carried out by Prof. Ton Peijs and colleagues has led to significant breakthroughs in engineering plastics: PURE® and its licensed Tegris® technology, which are lightweight self- reinforced alternatives to traditional polypropylene (PP) composites such as glass-fibre or natural- fibre-reinforced PP. Environmentally friendly and 100% recyclable, these strong and ultra-light self- reinforced plastics have been successfully used across a number of applications, from suitcases and sports gear to protective armour and automotive panels, with impressive results. When used for car, truck and van components, they have been shown to help lower exhaust emission levels and increase fuel economy.
Accelerated Carbonation Technology (ACT) is an innovative solution to several key environmental issues - CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, sustainable use of resources and the reliance on use of virgin stone for construction. ACT rapidly stabilises industrial waste recycling it into valuable aggregate, thereby reducing the amount going to landfill. ACT simultaneously captures the greenhouse gas CO2, via the rapid production of carbonate, which solidifies the waste into a hardened product. ACT has been commercialised through two spin-out companies leading to the first commercial production of carbon negative concrete blocks, taking hazardous waste from the bottom to the top of the waste hierarchy.
Research conducted at the University of Cambridge under an EPSRC grant between 1999 and 2002 established the viability of using microwave induced pyrolysis as a process for recovering clean, elemental aluminium and hydrocarbon liquids and gases from waste laminate packaging, thus preventing the need to send this material to landfill. The research has been commercialised by Enval Limited — a multi-award-winning University spin-off founded in 2006 that has attracted approximately £2M funding during the REF period and employs 7 people. A pilot scale unit has been operational since 2011, and the first commercial-scale unit has been constructed and has operated since April 2013.
Projects within the Silicates Research Unit have expanded the aesthetic and technical boundaries of ceramic materials and have had a significant impact on sustainable practices and materials within contemporary design. In response to increasingly stringent sustainable construction legislation, an AHRC Grant (£163,000) funded Binns and Bremner's development of a unique process for converting low-value mineral waste into high-value architectural products, avoiding reliance on non-replenishable materials.
Testing by the Environment Agency National Testing Laboratory has verified their innovative material meets British Standards for architectural materials (UK patent application, currently pending publication). It has also confirmed that the incorporation of Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) lead bearing glass (designated by the Environment Agency as hazardous waste) in the new material results in the lead content being safely encapsulated, offering a solution to the global problem of hazardous CRT waste glass recycling - allowing CRT glass to be re-classified as a safe raw material.
Researchers in QUB developed the first commercial process control system (Rotolog) and simulation software (RotoSim) for the Rotomoulding Plastics Industry. There has also been recent commercialisation of a new energy-saving system, the Rotocooler.
The fundamental understanding of the process that was developed also enabled the moulding of new materials for new application areas, notably motorcycle fuel tanks (now used by BMW, Ducati, Harley Davidson and Honda) and the world's first concept car made from sustainable polymers.
Global economic and environmental impact arises from a significantly more efficient process, better product quality, a greater selection of processable materials and thus increased sales.
Workers at the University of Leeds researched, then developed and patented the `hot compaction' process for the manufacture of single polymer composites [1]. In this process highly oriented polymer fibres are heated so that a proportion of the surface of every oriented element melts. Upon cooling, this skin recrystallises to form the matrix of a self-reinforced fibre composite. Important resultant properties include high stiffness and strength, lightweight and outstanding impact strength, leading to a material with crucial commercial advantage. The reach of this impact is demonstrated by commercialisation of the polymer composite over a wide range of applications including anti-ballistic body armour, sports goods (Nike, Bauer), lightweight luggage (Samsonite), audio speakers (Wharfedale) and radar covers for helicopters (Westland). Examples include Samsonite using the material Curv® to manufacture two new high profile product ranges (Cosmolite and Cubelite) and Bauer using it in their elite-level ice hockey skate range (SUPREME and VAPOR).
The production of plastic (polymer) waste and the difficulties associated with its disposal is a major environmental challenge. Many polymer food packaging structures are made using thermoforming processes in which hot thin oil-based polymer sheets are forced under pressure into moulds and then cooled to become thin-walled packaging structures. These structures are not eco-friendly and do not degrade after use. Thus unless they are recycled, which is a complicated process and mostly does not happen, these structures cause major environmental problems worldwide.
Researchers in Brunel Institute of Computational Mathematics (BICOM) have undertaken extensive computational modelling of the thermoforming of packaging structures made from bio-materials (thermoplastics). This computational work, together with the necessary laboratory experiments which were executed by Brunel engineers, has contributed to a far better understanding of the behaviour of starch-based biodegradable food packaging. In turn, the availability of such knowledge has contributed to the steady move by food packagers and food retailers towards the adoption of such packaging which is helping to reduce the amount of long term non-biodegradable waste produced.