ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | MARCH 2025 5 RESEARCH TRACKS SOUPED-UP SUPERGLUE BIODEGRADES Researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) and their colleagues at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley developed an adhesive polymer that is stronger than those commercially available—in addition to being biodegradable and reusable. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), known as P3HB, is a natural, bio-based, and biodegradable polymer that can be produced by microbes under the right biological conditions. While the polymer is not adhesive when made that way, the team was able to chemically reengineer its structure to deliver stronger adhesion than the common petroleum-derived, nonbiodegradable options when used on substrates or surfaces such as aluminum, glass, and wood. The adhesion strength of the reengineered P3HB can also be tuned to accommodate different application needs. “Petroleum-based thermoset adhesives such as Gorilla Glue and J-B Weld, along with thermoplastic hot melts, can be very difficult or even impossible to recycle or recover—primarily because of their strong bonds to other materials,” says CSU professor and lead researcher Eugene Chen. “Our approach instead offers a biodegradable material that can be used in a variety of industries with tunable or even higher strength compared to those options.” His team at CSU team is now working on ways to commercialize the polymer for broad use. colostate.edu. COLLABORATION VETS NUCLEAR COMPONENTS A research partnership between the DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has accelerated inspection of additively manufactured (AM) nuclear INL researchers use ORNL software to reduce the x-ray CT scan time and improve image accuracy for 3D-printed parts. Courtesy of Bill Chuirazzi/INL. components, and the effort is now expanding to inspect nuclear fuels. INL is using a software algorithm developed by ORNL to check for flaws in AM components as part of the process of identifying promising metals and alloys for 3D printing the next generation of nuclear reactors. The ORNL-developed technology has been so successful that researchers are now training the algorithm to inspect the ceramic casings of irradiated nuclear fuel tested at INL. “If we use this algorithm to reduce the scan time for radioactive fuels by 90%, it will increase worker safety and the rate we can evaluate new materials,” says Bill Chuirazzi, an instrument scientist at INL. The ramifications for the nuclear field extend far beyond the current project. “Down the road, it enables us to expedite the life cycle of new nuclear ideas from conception to implementation in the power grid.” The availability of advanced computational and characterization capabilities across both laboratories will accelerate the qualification of materials for 3D-printed nuclear components and the develop- ment of new fuel designs, helping the industry deploy new reactors more efficiently. inl.gov, ornl.gov. Biodegradable sr-P3HB adhesive applied between two steel plates suffers no failure, even with 20 lb load. Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., will receive $6 million to lead two projects related to fusion materials: “Non-Aqueous 2-D Material Based Hydrogen Isotope Separation” and “Development and De-risking of Li Electrolysis and CoRExt Process by Flow-Loop Integration.” Both focus on challenges in fuel cycle and blanket technologies, and tritium interactions with materials. srnl.gov. BRIEF
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