O. Auciello’s group at The University of Texas-Dallas is developing a new revolutionary low-cost microwave plasma pyrolysis process, implemented in a kitchen microwave oven, for biomass transformation
The novel process transforms biomass materials (e.g. fungal-mycelium, flexible hemp) from natural soil on Earth into a unique best biocompatible Ultrananocrystalline Diamond (UNCDTM) material. The (UNCDTM) material is made of Carbon atoms/elements of life in human DNA, cells, and molecules, enabling the development of new generations of high-tech and external/implantable medical devices/prostheses to improve the quality of life of people worldwide.
Biomolecular polymer chains
Biomass is biological matter derived from agricultural processes for power generation, producing 233 Mega-Tons (MT in 2016 in the USA. (1,2) Research demonstrated that biomolecular polymer chains (e.g., cellulose) exposed to pyrolysis, i.e., high temperature-induced decomposition of hydrocarbons, yield carbon-materal (char), liquids/resins and gasses.
These transformations are influenced by biomass type/process parameters (heating rates, temperature, moisture or oxygen content in the process gas). Pyrolysis was explored theoretically and experimentally for transforming biomass into amorphous-carbon material. (3,4)
Chitin/cellulose (natural biomolecules) can yield fiber bundles/fibril-matrix carbon-based char structures. Chitin is in crustacean shells and fungal mycelium walls, while cellulose is in nearly all vegetation. Methods to produce biochar from chitin/cellulose transformation were induced by nature long before humans developed processes. However, modern techniques can achieve fast/higher throughput for chitin/cellulose transformation to carbon materials for key products. The processes require drying/digestion/etching before the final thermal pyrolysis yielding powder biochar or pellets with C-atoms with graphite bonds on the surface. (4)
In analyzing fungal mycelium transformation int carbon materials, via microwave plasma processes (MPP), it is relevant to describe previously used methods to produce carbon films, such as microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) used to produce CNT, graphene, and Ultrananocrystalline Diamond (UNCD™) coatings, in the market today. (5,6,7)
However, MPCVD requires expensive equipment that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. The MPP process described earlier can transform biomass into solid structured UNCDTM material at a low cost, just a few thousand dollars. If developed to produce UNCD™ coatings, it could provide orders of magnitude lower cost process than MPCVD. (8) Thus, the novel MPP process described here represents a revolutionary approach for biomass transformation into the unique UNCD™ material, currently as a structured solid and potentially as a coating.
Biomass transformation to solid carbon-materials
Microwave Assisted Pyrolysis (MAP), involving microwave (MW) energy coupled to biomass directly or via micrwave absorbers (activated carbon), was demonstrated for biomass-char transformation.
