A gear is provided that has excellent continuous moldability for practical use, and both high slidability and high durability. The provided gear is a molded resin constructed of a resin composition comprising a thermoplastic resin (A) and cellulose nanofibers (B) with an average fiber diameter of 1000 nm or smaller, and having a number average molecular weight of the thermoplastic resin (A) in the range of 10,000 to 150,000, wherein a sliding surface of the gear with another gear teeth has an arithmetic mean surface roughness Sa of 3.0 .Math.m or lower.

The present invention discloses composite substances that can be used in the production of objects and building materials by means of fusion thereof, and provide particular physical properties, including barrier to the transmission of ultraviolet radiation and to the transfer of liquids and gases, whereby said composite substances present thermoplastic matrixes that include synthetic polymers and/or bio-polymers, as well as further vegetal fibre associated with at least one sub-product from the processing of an edible vegetal substance, thereby providing a new economic utilization of such sub-products, and composite substances with a high degree of bio-degradation once of the disposal thereof.

The present invention further discloses uses of said composite substances and processes for production of said composite substances.

A cellulose fiber reinforced resin formed body, which is obtained by molding a cellulose fiber reinforced resin composition containing a polypropylene resin, an alkoxysilane-modified polypropylene resin, and a cellulose fiber; and

a method of producing the same.

A binding material to obtain a molded body by binding fibers to each other, includes a thermoplastic resin and a fluorescent whitener, and the fluorescent whitener has a melting point higher than a fusing point of the thermoplastic resin. The melting point of the fluorescent whitener is preferably 200° C. or more. A content of the fluorescent whitener in the binding material is preferably 1.0 percent by mass or less. The binding material preferably further includes a white pigment.

Provided are a bacterial nanocellulose transparent film, a manufacturing method thereof, and a packaging material including a food packaging material or an electronic product packaging material using the same capable of newly manufacturing a bacterial nanocellulose transparent film with an oxygen barrier property, a moisture barrier property, or a UV barrier property by performing electron beam irradiation and a film process on bacterial cellulose.

A method of forming a composite material includes disposing dried plant material, nanoparticles, and a supercritical fluid in a vessel. A cellular structure of the dried plant material expands when disposed in the supercritical fluid and the nanoparticles migrate into and are embedded within the expanded cellular structure of the disposed dried plant material. The disposed dried plant fibers with embedded nanoparticles are removed from the vessel and mixed with a polymer to form a polymer-nanoparticle mixture. A chemical additive can be added to the supercritical fluid and the chemical additive can remove at least one of hemicellulose, lignin and pectins from the dried plant material.

A product having powder-like properties, the product comprising animal fibres, e.g. wool, having a length less than 10 mm, preferably less than about 3 mm, more preferably less than about 2 mm. Surprisingly, animal fibres having a length below a certain fibre length have powder-like properties, such as improved rheological properties, increased density, increased surface area and increased porosity. Also described are processes for preparing compositions and composites thereof, and uses thereof, e.g., as a filter aid, in a dietary supplement, in a filler and in a hair thickener.

A novel cutting-edge structure and method and apparatus for manufacturing the cutting-edge structure is provided. The cutting-edge structure is comprised of naturally derived or renewable material at greater than 50% by volume fraction. In one embodiment, the naturally derived material is a cellulose nanostructure such as a cellulose nanocrystal. The cellulose nanocrystal is processed using a base or mold structure to provide a cutting edge of any shape such as linear or circular edge structures. The process includes dual cure steps to produce an optimal cutting-edge structure without shrinkage. The formed cutting-edge structure can be utilized as a razor blade as it is formed with very sharp tip and edge suitable for cutting hair. The base structure can form one or more cutting-edge structures simultaneously.

The present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of a lignocellulosic fibre-based composite material comprising the steps of: obtaining a fibrous mix (S1) comprising a defibrated lignocellulosic material and defibrated plant seeds; blending the fibrous mix with a resin (S2) to form a composite mixture; and curing (S3) the composite mixture, thereby forming the lignocellulosic fibre-based composite material.

A preferred application of this process is the manufacture of fibreboards, such as MDF.

Provided is a thermoplastic resin composite material or a thermoplastic resin composite material particle that includes cellulose fibers, can be used to obtain a molded article excellent in mechanical properties such as strength, and is so excellent in fluidity during melting as to be excellent in molding processability. A thermoplastic resin composite material including cellulose fibers, a compatibilizer, and a thermoplastic resin, wherein the cellulose fibers substantially include only fibers having a fiber diameter of 1 to 50 μm and a fiber length of 10 to 400 μm, a composition ratio by mass of the cellulose fibers to the thermoplastic resin is 10:90 to 80:20, and arbitrary 10 sections of the thermoplastic resin composite material have a standard deviation of a proportion of an area occupied by the cellulose fibers per predetermined area, the standard deviation being 15% or less.