Project Description

The foodware segment is the largest user of plastics, accounting for ∼35% of all plastics usage. Much of this is in single-use applications such as utensils and packaging. Given the deleterious effects of plastics on the environment, there is much effort ongoing to develop sustainable material alternatives for these single-use applications.
The Future Manufacturing project will explore a new paradigm for foodware manufacturing – direct forming of palm-leaf materials in a single-step into final product shapes (e.g., plates, bowls) – with extraordinary sustainability benefits. It builds on preliminary observations that leaf-sheath from areca catechu, a palm variety cultivated for nearly 2000 years, can undergo large shape transformations, in stretch-forming, analogous to sheet metals. To establish the underlying deformation processing science of plant-leaf materials, the project will a) examine the structural basis of the high formability in areca palm; b) identify a broad class of plant-leaf materials with similar high formability; and c) explore scalability of the processing for large-scale foodware production.
Besides technological innovations and creation of a new domestic manufacturing sector, the project, by advancing plant-based materials manufacturing, will be impactful also for the developing world. Employment and Eco-Manufacturing entrepreneurship opportunities will be enhanced for women and traditionally under-represented communities worldwide.

Start Date

10/01/2021

Postdoctoral Qualifications

PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Physics, Chemistry or BioSciences
Good experimental and analytical skills

Co-Advisors

Srinivasan Chandrasekar, chandy@purdue.edu, Industrial Engineering (primary)
Laura Pyrak-Nolte – ljpn@purdue.edu - Physics (secondary)
Kevin Trumble – driscol@purdue.edu - Materials Engineering (secondary)

External Collaborators

Dr. James B. Mann – CEO M4 Sciences Corporation – jbmann@m4sciences.com

Bibliography

1. Geyer, R., Jambeck, J. R. & Law, K. L. Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made. Science Advances 3, e1700782 (2017).
2. Gibson, L. J., Ashby, M. F. & Harley, B. A. Cellular Materials in Nature and Medicine (Cambridge University Press, 2010).
3. Fratzl, P. & Weinkamer, R. Nature’s hierarchical materials. Progress in Materials Science, 52, 1263–1334 (2007).
4. D.P. Mohanty, A. Udupa, A. R. Anil Chandra, K. Viswanathan, J. B. Mann, K. P. Trumble and S. Chandrasekar, Mechanical Behavior and High Formability of Palm Leaf Materials, Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202000080