NANOTECHNOLOGY%20OPPORTUNITIES%20IN%20RESIDENTIAL%20AND%20COMMERCIAL%20CONSTRUCTION

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NANOTECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES IN RESIDENTIALAND
COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION

• Theodore H. Wegner
• Jerrold E. Winandy
• Michael A. Ritter
• USDA Forest ServiceForest Products Laboratory
• Madison, WI
• USA
• November 16, 2005

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Materials US in the United States on a Volume
Basis
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88 of Single Family Structures are Wood Frame
Construction
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Wood Competitive Materials in Residential
Buildings
Volume of Materials
Over past 100 years gt 7 Billion m3 of wood has
been used in structures
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United States Wood Products Consumption 75 go
to residential markets
2002 Structural Panels (33 million Cubic Meters)
2002 Softwood Lumber (128 million Cubic Meters)
Industrial 16
Industrial 19
RA 22
RA 34
New Residential 53
New Residential 41
NR. 9
NR 6
New Residential incl. SF, MF, and Mobile Homes
Source APA SFPA, Market Outlook, September
2002
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Housing Non-residential Issues related to Use
of Wood

• Durability
• Moisture
• Decay
• Termites
• Weathering
• Fire Performance
• Disaster Performance
• Fire
• Flood
• Hurricane/Tornado/Wind storm
• Energy Consumption
• Integrated Building Systems

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US Energy Consumption 2003
70 Quads
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Decreasing energy use for space heating/cooling
often leads to moisture management and indoor
air quality issues and problems
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Reducing the Costs of Natural Disasters
Annual US Cost tens hundreds of Billions of
Dollars Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earth
quakes, wind storms, Forest wildfire
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Annual Structures Fire Losses
3000 deaths and losses gt 12 Billion annually
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Once the wood is damaged by weathering, it cant
hold paint. This structure was only 5 years old
when this photograph was taken. It has been
painted three times.
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Decay caused by moisture entry because the
sealant has failed or was not used properly
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Mold growing on wall studs and oriented
strandboard sheathing in a wall cavity due to
moisture build up
Law suits pending gt 10,000 3 Billion in claims
paid in 2002
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Subterranean Termite Zones in N. America
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Housing Forestry in the US

• - Americas Forests are a Major Strategic
  National Asset (303 Million Hectares--31 Billion
  m3 of Wood--Growth to harvest over 21)
• Publicly owned and managed129 million Hectares
• Privately held174 million Hectares
• Americas Forests provide Vital Ecological
  Services
• Carbon Sequestration
• Clean Water
• Animal Habitat
• Recreation
• Stewardship and Sustainable Management and Use of
  Americas Forests is critical to meeting
  Americas strategic needs for Materials,
  Products, Energy, and Jobs

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2/3 of Americas forests are in the eastern
US About 3/4 of Americas private forests are in
the East
Forest Land 303 million Hectares
Total Land Area 913 million Hectares
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161 million Hectares at risk
Over 20 million hectares burned over last 10
years at a cost of 8.2 billion for fire
suppression (2005 3.36 million Hectares)
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Nanomaterials Opportunities
Nanomaterials offer the potential for
unprecedented material performance that could

• Solve major societal problems
• (e.g. energy, medicine, environment,
  manufacturing, communications, computing,
  security, and forest management)
• Energize the economy for decades
• Revitalize existing businesses (e.g. forest
  products)
• Boost competitiveness globally
• Create entirely new industries

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Cellulose synthesis and material production
nature working across a length scale
gt1010!
Cellulose nanofiber bundles
Rosette (6 assembly proteins), which produces
cellulose nanofibers
28nm
www.ita.doc.gov/td/forestprod/
Source Jeffery Catchmark, Penn State University
Candace Haigler and Larry Blanton, Cellulose
You're surrounded by it, but did you know it
was there?
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Nanotechnology Opportunities for Current Forest
Products Processes

• Sensors to monitor processes and product history
• Revolutionize separations
• Breakthrough surface characteristics
• Incredible bonding
• Dramatic simplification of production processes
• Significant synergy with forest biotechnology
• Significant reduction in the need for energy

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Nanotechnology Opportunities in Housing
Non-residential Structures Issues related to Use
of Wood

• Sensors
• Barrier coatings
• Multifunctionality
• Durability Low Maintenance
• Fire Performance
• Disaster Performance
• Energy Consumption/Production
• Building component integration

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Nanotechnology Roadmap
Vision To sustainably meet the needs of present
and future generations for wood-based materials
and products by applying nanotechnology science
and engineering to efficiently and effectively
capture the entire range of values that
wood-based lignocellulosic materials are capable
of providing.

• www.nanotechforest.org

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Nanomaterials Wood Construction Materials

• Superior Barrier Coatings, Films, Fillers
• Weather resistance (e.g. UV resistant films
  coatings)
• Decay/mold resistance (e.g. ZnO, Ag, TiO2, Clay,
  moisture barriers)
• Fire resistance (e.g. Clay, TiO2)
• Termite resistance
• Multifunctionality
• Breathable surfaces -- Keep water out yet allow
  water vapor to escape

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Nanomaterials Wood Construction
Materials-continued

• Smart Materials
• Nanoscale Sensors
• Moisture/Biological attack
• Insect attacktermites/carpenter ants
• Decay fungi
• Mold
• Structural Member loading
• Self sterilizing surfaces

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Nanomaterials Wood Construction
Materials-continued

• Higher strength, stiffness, impact resistant,
  durable products materials
• Cellulose nanofibrils
• Lighter weight with superior thermal insulation
• Integrated Building components systems
• Multifunctional e.g. electrical, heating
  cooling
• Self repairing Systems

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Federal Role in Nanotechnology RD

• Support sustainable forestry and forest products
  as a positive economic, social, and ecological
  force
• Promote, conduct, and support high risk,
  fundamental nanotechnology research
• Acquire and maintain state of the art RD
  nanotechnology facilities and provide access to
  other partners to move the US forest-based
  economy forward
• Cooperate with industry, universities, other
  governmental agencies, and international partners

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Thank you for Your Attention