Ian Kineon ‘25 On Campus Research
My name is Ian Kineon and I am a junior chemical engineering and management dual degree student. I have served as the Epsilon for the past two semesters and I will be serving as the Brotherhood Board chair within Chi Phi.
This past summer I was on campus doing research (and living in the chapter house as well!). My research is in the properties and biodegradability of a bio-based, biodegradable plastic composite. The plastic that I am studying is Polylactic Acid. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a major contender in this field since it replicates many of the properties of its non-biodegradable counterparts. However, commercial PLA loses its stiffness and strength at higher temperatures. One of the goals of my research project is to strengthen PLA at higher temperatures while keeping it bio-based and biodegradable. My research group created composites made up of PLA and cellulose nanofibers, which has been researched in recent years, but my research team focused on the processing technique. We have a continuous processing technique so that it can be used on a larger commercial scale. Cellulose nanofibers are tree and plant fibers, which also are inherently bio-based and biodegradable. The manual for the process we used to create the composites was actually created by Alumni Advisor Marc Henry (‘09). The processing technique we used for the composites proved to be the best method when we compared it to other industry standards. The composites successfully raised the temperature at which the plastic is considered to be mechanically failed by over 150oF.
Brother Mackenn ‘24 and I are currently continuing this project and studying the timeline that it takes for each of the composite to biodegrade. We are looking to publish this research within the next couple of months once the study is completed.
In November, Brother Orlando and I attended the annual national chemical engineering conference which was held in Orlando Florida. Both of us presented our respective research at the undergraduate poster competition.
