In a method of making a carbon fiber, carbon nanotubes (CNT) are mixed into a solution including polyacrylonitrile (PAN) so as to form a CNT/PAN mixture. At least one PAN/CNT fiber is formed from the mixture. A first predetermined electrical current is applied to the PAN/CNT fiber until the PAN/CNT fiber is a stabilized PAN/CNT fiber. A heatable fabric that includes a plurality of fibers that each have an axis. Each of the plurality of fibers includes polyacrylonitrile and carbon nanotubes dispersed in the polyacrylonitrile in a predetermined weight percent thereof and aligned along the axes of the plurality of fibers. The plurality of fibers are woven into a fabric. A current source is configured to apply an electrical current through the plurality of fibers, thereby causing the fibers to generate heat.

Methods and apparatus for manufacturing a microwavable food container include: forming a wire mesh over a mold comprising a mirror image of the microwavable food container; immersing the wire mesh in a fiber-based slurry bath; drawing a vacuum across the wire mesh to cause fiber particles to accumulate at the wire mesh surface; and removing the wire mesh including the accumulated fiber particles from the slurry bath; wherein the slurry comprises a moisture barrier, an oil barrier, and a vapor barrier.

A method is provided for manufacturing a rigid object from a powder produced from shear stirred brown macroalgae so as to extract proteins, such as actin, from the brown macroalgae, the powder consisting of particles having an equivalent diameter smaller than or equal to 1.5 millimetres and having a residual moisture content smaller than or equal to 45%. The method includes thermo-compression of the powder in a mould, the powder being brought to a temperature between 50 and 100° C. and subjected to a pressure of between 150 and 4000 bars for 50 seconds to 45 minutes. Also provided is a method for preparing the powder.

In a method for controlling shrinkage of a composite, a dried hydrophobically modified cellulose-based fiber is exposed to a slow acting resin system having a first curing time. An excess amount of the slow acting resin system is removed to separate out the pre-wetted hydrophobically modified cellulose-based fiber. The pre-wetted hydrophobically modified cellulose-based fiber is mixed with a fast acting resin system to form a mixture. The fast acting resin system has a second curing time that is less than the first curing time. The mixture is molded at a predetermined temperature. The fast acting resin system is cured prior to the slow acting resin system, and the slow acting resin system flows into free space within the curing fast acting resin system prior to the slow acting resin system being cured.

This invention elates to polysaccharide materials and more particularly to microbial-derived cellulose having the porosity and containing pores of the desired size making it suitable for cellular infiltration during implantation and other desirable properties for medical and surgical applications. The invention also relates to the use of porous microbial-derived cellulose as tissue engineering matrices, human tissue substitutes, and reinforcing scaffolds for regenerating injured tissues and augmenting surgical procedures The invention outlines various methods during and after fermentation to create porous microbial cellulose capable of allowing cell infiltration while preserving the physical properties of the microbial-cellulose.

The invention relates to the field of cups, bowls and containers, particularly beverage cups, and to the production of cups, bowls and containers. According to the invention, the cups, bowls and containers comprise, in a first variant, a first layer (5) made of cellulose hydrate, also known as cellophane, or cellulose hydrate which is coated with a primer material (4). In addition, the cups, bowls and containers can comprise a second layer (3), made of paperboard or fibre/cellulose-starch mix, for example. In a second variant, the cups, bowls and containers according to the invention comprise a first layer made of natural rubber or plant-based wax and a second layer made of cellulose hydrate, paperboard or fibre/cellulose-starch mix. By using exclusively biodegradable materials, the present invention can provide completely biodegradable/compostable cups, bowls and containers. The invention also relates to a method for producing such cups, bowls and containers. In addition, the present invention also comprises the production of lids made of the aforementioned materials and the provision of cups, bowls and containers having such lids.

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a cellulose product having a flat or non-flat product shape by a pressure moulding apparatus comprising a forming mould. The forming mould has a forming surface defining said product shape, The method comprises the steps of:

arranging a cellulose blank containing less than 45 weight percent water in said forming mould; heating said cellulose blank to a forming temperature in the range of 100° C. to 200° C.; and pressing said cellulose blank by means of said forming mould with a forming pressure acting on the cellulose blank across said forming surface, said forming pressure being in the range of 1 MPa to 100 MPa.

Method for preparing a membrane from fibril cellulose includes supplying fibril cellulose dispersion on a filter layer, draining liquid from a fibril cellulose dispersion by the effect of reduced pressure through the filter layer that is impermeable to fibrils of the fibril cellulose but permeable to the liquid to form a membrane sheet on the filter fabric, applying heat on the opposite side of the membrane sheet to the membrane sheet while continuing draining of the liquid through the filter layer by pressure difference over the filter layer, and removing the membrane sheet from the filter layer as a freestanding membrane.

The present invention relates to a process for forming cellulose fibers or film from dissolved cellulose. The process comprises the steps of: dissolving cellulose in an aqueous coagulation sodium salt solution to provide a cellulose spin dope; extruding the cellulose spin dope into a coagulation bath liquid comprising an aqueous coagulation sodium salt solution to provide cellulose fibers or film; withdrawing a portion of the coagulation bath comprising coagulation sodium salt and sodium hydroxide (NaOH); cooling the withdrawn portion of the coagulation bath to precipitate solid coagulation sodium salt to recover sodium hydroxide (NaOH) substantially free from the coagulation salt; and using at least a portion of the recovered sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in dissolving the cellulose to provide the cellulose spin dope.

A silk thread molded body is obtained by molding a coarsely pulverized silk thread material which is prepared by coarsely pulverizing silk threads.