Curran (material)

The material was developed by Scottish material scientists David Hepworth and Eric Whale, who met while studying for their PhDs at University of Reading. They began researching carrot-derived cellulose fibres in 2002. In 2004, they founded Cellucomp, Ltd. in Fife with funding from the Scottish government agency Scottish Enterprise.{{cite news |title=The future is orange for hi-tech material made from carrots |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/feb/09/news.uknews |work=The Guardian |date=9 February 2007 }} They hoped to develop a composite that could be a substitute for carbon fibre. The word curran means "carrot" in Scottish Gaelic, a reference to the fact that cellulose fibres from carrots were used to develop the material.{{cite news |last1=Hansman |first1=Heather |title=Coming Soon: Helmets Made From Carrots |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/coming-soon-helmets-made-from-carrots-180956322/ |work=Smithsonian Magazine |date=24 August 2015 }}

File:Scottish Growth Scheme (35212181161).jpg Derek Mackay visits a Cellucomp facility in 2017.]]

Root vegetables were selected over wood or cotton, which are more widely used in the production of nanofibres,{{Cite web |last=Clarke |first=Paul |date=2014-06-29 |title=New Space Age Material Made From... Carrots? |url=https://waldenlabs.com/curran/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Walden Labs}} because root vegetables grow faster and are easier to process. During early development, Whale and Hepworth's team bought large quantities of carrots from local grocery stores, finding them a cheap and convenient source of cellulose. They would typically buy four shopping trolleys full of carrots at a time, until their local stores could no longer keep up with the volume required and refused to sell them more carrots.{{Cite web |title=The UK's latest 'wonder material' is made from sugar beet |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/11475639/The-UKs-latest-wonder-material-is-made-from-sugar-beet.html |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=www.telegraph.co.uk}} After this, the scientists switched to purchasing B-grade carrots not fit for consumers directly from farmers.

The development team later began using sugar beet pulp, an agricultural byproduct of sugar production, as their source of cellulose.{{cite news |last1=Markham |first1=Derek |title=Cellulose Nano-Fiber from Carrots is Twice as Strong as Carbon Fiber |url=https://www.ecopreneurist.com/2014/05/19/cellulose-nano-fiber-carrots-twice-strong-carbon-fiber/ |work=Ecopreneurist |date=19 May 2014 }} Beet pulp was even more widely available than carrots due to the scale of the global sugar industry.{{cite news |title=Sugar beet waste product could be billion dollar 'wonder material' |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-suger-beet-idUSKCN0RG29I20150916 |work=Reuters |date=16 September 2015 }} The process can also be applied to other root vegetables, such as turnips,{{cite news |last1=Lo |first1=Karen |title=Could Your Next Car Be Made Out of Carrots? |url=https://www.thedailymeal.com/news/could-your-next-car-be-made-out-carrots/51514 |work=The Daily Meal |date=15 May 2014 }} rutabaga, and parsnips.{{Cite web |title=Carrot nanofibers to make snowboards and battleships |url=https://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=1430.php |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=www.nanowerk.com}}

Hepworth and Whale received grant funding from the European Union's Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development which they used to hire researchers from Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA). The EMPA researchers applied a multi-perspective application selection (MPAS) method to determine whether Curran could be efficiently produced and marketed on a large scale.{{Cite web |date=2015-08-13 |title=Better analysis method saves time, effort...and money |url=https://www.plasticstoday.com/materials/better-analysis-method-saves-time-effortand-money |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=plasticstoday.com |language=en}}

Cellucomp began producing Curran fibres for paint manufacturers in 2013 and moved to a new production facility that allowed them to increase production from 15 to 50 tons annually. In 2015, a new Cellucomp facility was unveiled in Glenrothes by Scottish Minister for Youth and Women's Employment Annabelle Ewing.{{Cite web |date=2015-03-26 |title=CelluComp's bio-refinery opens in Fife |url=https://www.scotsman.com/business/cellucomps-bio-refinery-opens-fife-1509223 |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=www.scotsman.com |language=en}} The facility was reported to produce 400 tons of Curran per year, with plans to expand to 2000 tons per year.{{Cite web |last=Kornum 8 |first=Af René |date=2015-09-30 |title=Nyt vidunderprodukt skabt af rester fra sukkerroer |url=https://ing.dk/artikel/nyt-vidunderprodukt-skabt-af-rester-fra-sukkerroer-179014 |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Ingeniøren |language=da}}

By 2015, Cellucomp had received £1 million in grants from the Scottish government, including Scottish Enterprise. The company's growth was part of larger efforts to expand Scotland's biotechnology sector, per the country's National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology.{{Cite web |title=From By-Product to Biorefinery: Case Study on Success of CelluComp - Innovate UK KTN |url=https://ktn-uk.org/perspectives/from-by-product-to-biorefinery-case-study-on-success-of-cellucomp/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |language=en-GB}} The company also received £3 million of funding from private investors such as Claridge, Inc. and Sofinnova.

As of 2019, the company had plans to begin building a €22.6 million commercial scale facility.{{Cite web |last1=Colmorgen |first1=Felix |last2=Khawaja |first2=Cosette |date=2019 |title=Small-scale technology options for regional bioeconomies |url=https://be-rural.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/BE-Rural_D2.1_Small-scale_technology_options.pdf |website=BE-RURAL.eu |pages=14–15 }}

During the production of Curran, vegetables are mechanically broken down to create a slurry of nanocellulose particles.{{Cite book |last=Lefteri |first=Chris |title=Materials for Design |date=2014-05-12 |publisher=Quercus Publishing |isbn=978-1-78067-534-3 |language=en |chapter=Carrot Fibres |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ma0gEAAAQBAJ&dq=curran+nanofiber&pg=PT110}} The excess water is removed from the slurry, and the nanocellulose fibre is extracted. Whale described the processed fibres as being similar in consistency to Play-Doh. The fibres are then further processed by combining them with resins.{{cite journal |last1=Grose |first1=Thomas K. |date=April 2007 |title=Fishing's New Lure |journal=ASEE Prism |volume=16 |issue=8 |pages=16 |jstor=24162546 |id={{ProQuest|236224880}}}} Resins used to create Curran biocomposites include epoxy, polyurethane and polyester.{{Cite web |last=svendonoe |date=2015-10-15 |title=From waste to resource |url=https://onoe-design.dk/en/from-waste-to-resource/ |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=Onø Design |language=en-US}} Thermoset polymer-based Curran composites are strong and mouldable.{{Cite book |last=Pickering |first=Kim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yFSkAgAAQBAJ&dq=curran+cellucomp&pg=PA287 |title=Properties and Performance of Natural-Fibre Composites |date=2008-06-23 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-1-84569-459-3 |pages=285 |language=en}} Curran is sold in the form of a powder, granule or slurry for different applications and is typically sold in quantities of 15 kilograms.

Unlike other methods of separating cellulose fibres from root vegetable pulp, Curran production does not require fossil fuel-based chemicals.{{Cite web |last=LeBlanc |first=Tyler |date=2014-05-13 |title=Could Carrots Be the Carbon Fiber of the Future? |url=https://modernfarmer.com/2014/05/orange-new-black/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Modern Farmer |language=en-US}} Manufacturing Curran also does not produce volatile organic compounds.

Curran is based on microcrystalline nanocellulose particles,{{Cite web |last=Case2017-10-23T12:16:00+01:00 |first=Fiona |title=Brick by brick |url=https://edu.rsc.org/feature/brick-by-brick/3008115.article |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=RSC Education |language=en}} with properties similar to both carbon fibre-based composites and glass fibre composites. Its composition is around 80% root vegetable fibre and 20% oil. Its cellulose content is approximately 20%.{{Cite book |last1=Katiyar |first1=Vimal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I0YCEAAAQBAJ&dq=curran+cellucomp&pg=PA62 |title=Cellulose Nanocrystals: An Emerging Nanocellulose for Numerous Chemical Processes |last2=Dhar |first2=Prodyut |date=2020-10-12 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-064801-0 |pages=62 |language=en}} Curran composites have a tensile strength of 5 gigapascals. Curran has a 5% strain to failure, and greater stiffness than glass composites.{{Cite book |last=Walter |first=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TyXMpBYGTIYC&q=curran+cellucomp+automobile |title=Chemistry and Industry |date=2007 |publisher=Society of Chemical Industry |pages=7 |language=en}} Because of its composition, it increases both the strength and viscosity of the products it is added to. The material is also biodegradeable.

The material has applications for use in composite materials and as a reinforcing additive in construction, paints and coatings, drilling fluid, cosmetics, recycled paper, and sustainable packaging.{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-323-85835-9.00003-9 |chapter=Production of microfibrillated cellulose fibers and their application in polymeric composites |title=Nanotechnology in Paper and Wood Engineering |year=2022 |last1=Liu |first1=Ming |last2=Hoffmann |first2=Katrin Greta |last3=Geiger |first3=Thomas |last4=Nyström |first4=Gustav |pages=197–229 |isbn=978-0-323-85835-9 |s2cid=246398638 }} Its strength means that it has applications for use in automobile and aerospace parts.

Curran improves the rheological properties of liquids such as plastics and paints.{{cite conference |first1=Christian |last1=Donohoe |first2=Stephen C. |last2=Fry |first3=Eric |last3=Whale |title=The effects of hydrogen peroxide and bleach on cellulose in oxidised sugar beet pulp |pages=171–172 |conference=9th IUPAC International Conference on Green Chemistry |date=September 2022 |location=Athens |conference-url=https://greeniupac2022.org/wp-content/uploads/9th_ICGC_Conference_Proceedings.pdf }}{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-65079-1_12 |chapter=Sustainable Supply Chains: Utilisation of Whole Crops for New Product Development |title=Crop Improvement |year=2017 |last1=Smith |first1=Rebecca |pages=271–286 |isbn=978-3-319-65078-4 }} This increases the quality of paints, and can also prevent cracking. Curran is more ecologically friendly than many other alternatives used in paint manufacturing because of the lower energy costs involved in its production. However, it does not significantly impact the sustainability of paint since it makes up a small percentage of total ingredients.

In 2007, Cellucomp partnered with the American sports equipment company E21 to produce a fly fishing rod made out of Curran. The rod, marketed as Carrot Stix, was bright orange colored. Carrot Stix were made out of 70% Curran wrapped around a thin carbon core. It was noted to be strong and significantly lighter than solely carbon-based rods.{{cite news |title=Forget graphite, fiberglass fishing rods -- think carrots |url=https://www.newsandtribune.com/archives/forget-graphite-fiberglass-fishing-rods----think-carrots/article_e472fa06-7cdb-51ab-a7b5-2cd88d54fc5c.html |work=News and Tribune |agency=Scripps Howard News Service |date=22 July 2007 }}{{cite journal |last1=Crocker |first1=J. |title=Natural materials |journal=Materials Technology |date=September 2008 |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=174–178 |doi=10.1179/175355508X373378 |bibcode=2008MaTec..23..174C |s2cid=218667019 }} The rods were a commercial success, selling over 500,000 units.{{Cite web |title=A Surprising Carbon Fiber Alternative: Nanofibers Made from Carrots |url=https://www.core77.com/posts/40232/A-Surprising-Carbon-Fiber-Alternative-Nanofibers-Made-from-Carrots |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=Core77 |language=en}} It won "Best Freshwater Rod" and "Best of Show" at the 2007 International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades.{{cite news |title=Carrots top reel innovations |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/sports-columns/in-the-outdoors/carrots-top-reel-innovations/ |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=20 July 2007 |url-access=subscription }} Cellucomp also marketed a similar brand of rods called Just Cast in the United Kingdom. After introducing Carrot Stix, they planned to produce snowboards.{{cite news |title=Rods will be a carrot to the fish |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6342381.stm |work=BBC News |date=8 February 2007 }}

EMPA's research found that out of possible applications, motorcycle helmets and surfboards were particularly likely applications for Curran due to the need for materials used in their construction to be lightweight and strong, and advised more development in this area.

Curran has been used to strengthen concrete by increasing the amount of calcium silicate hydrate within the material. Research conducted at Lancaster University created a nanocomposite concrete by combining Curran with Portland cement.{{Cite web |date=2018-08-09 |title=Carrots could be key to stronger concrete |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2018/08/09/carrots-concrete-stronger-lancaster-university-technology/ |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=Dezeen |language=en}} Their study found that concrete reinforced with Curran could be made with lower quantities of cement, thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions associated with cement production. Curran also made concrete more resistant to corrosion over time, as it increased the density of its microstructure.{{Cite web |last=Dean |first=Amy M. |date=2018-07-12 |title=Super Strong Concrete Naturally: Calcite-Precipitating Bacteria, Mushrooms … Now Carrots & Beets? |url=https://www.concretepavements.org/2018/07/12/super-strong-concrete-naturally-calcite-precipitating-bacteria-mushrooms-now-carrots-beets/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=International Society for Concrete Pavements |language=en-US}} As of 2019, the Lancaster University research team, led by Mohamed Saafi, planned to conduct trials of Curran-enforced concrete in the United Kingdom by the end of 2020.{{cite news |last1=Mehta |first1=Angeli |title=Concrete's carbon problem |url=https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/concretes-carbon-problem/3010915.article |work=Chemistry World |date=16 September 2019 }} The European Union's Horizon 2020 programme awarded £195,000 in funding to Saafi's team to continue their research.

Nanocellulose can be used to manufacture biodegradeable packaging for the food industry, including paper and cardboard.{{Cite journal |date=October 2020 |title=Nanocellulose Bio-Based Composites for Food Packaging |journal=Nanomaterials |pmc=7602726 |last1=Silva |first1=F. A. |last2=Dourado |first2=F. |last3=Gama |first3=M. |last4=Poças |first4=F. |volume=10 |issue=10 |page=2041 |doi=10.3390/nano10102041 |pmid=33081126 |doi-access=free }} In 2022, Cellucomp and the Danish Technological Institute partnered to produce sustainable paper-based food packaging based on Curran as an alternative to plastic.{{cite news |title=DTI and Cellucomp introduce packaging material produced from sugar beet pulp |url=https://internationalsugarjournal.com/dti-and-cellucomp-introduce-packaging-material-produced-from-sugar-beet-pulp/ |work=International Sugar Journal |date=11 July 2022 |url-access=subscription }}{{cite press release |title=Fibre From Sugar Beet Is a Key Ingredient in New Paper Packaging |url=https://foodindustryexecutive.com/2022/07/fibre-from-sugar-beet-is-a-key-ingredient-in-new-paper-packaging/ |work=Food Industry Executive |publisher=Danish Technological Institute |date=29 July 2022 }}

In 2009, Curran was used to create part of the steering wheel of Worldfirst, a Formula Three automobile made entirely out of recycled and renewable materials. Researchers at University of Warwick engineered the vehicle. It was test driven by professional driver Aaron Steele at Brands Hatch.{{Cite web |last=Wysong |first=Pippa |title=Faster Than a Speeding Carrot: A Racing Car Made Entirely from Recyclables and Vegetable By-Products |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/vegetable-racing-car/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Scientific American |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Pool |first=Rebecca |date=2009-06-01 |title=Racing greens |url=https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2009/06/racing-greens/ |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=eandt.theiet.org |language=en-US}}

• Biotechnology in the United Kingdom

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• [http://cellucomp.com/products/ Cellucomp website]

Category:Fiber plants

Category:Organic polymers

Category:Cellulose