Issue 6, 2025

Accelerated design of solid bio-based foams for plastics substitutes

Abstract

Biobased substitutes for plastics are a future necessity. However, the design of substitute materials with similar or improved properties is a known challenge. Here we show an example case of optimizing the mechanical properties of a fully biobased methylcellulose-fiber composite material. We tackle the process–structure–property paradigm using Bayesian optimization with Gaussian process regression to map the processed material composition to the final mechanical properties of new bio-based solid foams. We exploited the fast-to-measure rheological properties of the liquid biofiber suspensions processed into foams to show how these collapse to an auxiliary sub-space of low dimensionality for design. The optimal compositions for methylcellulose-fiber foams shown here correspond to two distinct cases: high methylcellulose content for the formation of strong closed-cell foams, and high fiber contents with approximately equal amounts of methylcellulose for the formation of methylcellulose-bound fiber networks. The novel approach is transferable to other biobased foam compositions with different fibers and additives. This new approach allows the rational design of bio-based plastics replacements by encompassing desired final material properties, descriptors of materials processed, and knowledge of the process.

Graphical abstract: Accelerated design of solid bio-based foams for plastics substitutes

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Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
18 Oct 2024
Accepted
05 Dec 2024
First published
06 Dec 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Mater. Horiz., 2025,12, 1855-1862

Accelerated design of solid bio-based foams for plastics substitutes

I. Y. Miranda-Valdez, T. Mäkinen, S. Coffeng, A. Päivänsalo, L. Jannuzzi, L. Viitanen, J. Koivisto and M. J. Alava, Mater. Horiz., 2025, 12, 1855 DOI: 10.1039/D4MH01464B

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