I-Corps: Leveraging Low-Polluting Foundry Core Binders toward Commercialization

This I-Corps activity will further develop low-emitting core binder systems toward foundry use. Conventional cores employ petroleum-based phenolic urethanes, which emit considerable volatile organic compound (VOC) pollution, whereas these novel binders release approximately 70-80% fewer VOCs. Work will address practical applications of how to quickly process these cores. The team will adapt these binder systems to the foundry's core-making machines. While preparing prototype cores with low-VOC binders, the team will appraise what are the effects when varying parameters that foundry personnel control - such as binder proportions, moisture, blow pressure, curing temperature, curing gas (air, steam, CO2), and cycle time. The variations of these practical parameters will be linked to fundamentals derived in prior NSF work: at what temperature do the functionalities of carboxyls and amino acids lose their binding strength; what blow pressures overcome the stickiness of moist sand grains; what core-making machine configurations are best-suited for these low-VOC binders. The I-Corp Team will offer transformative beneficial impact to society as the work transitions these low-polluting binders toward commercial acceptance. This has the potential create a healthier and more pleasant working environment for hard-working foundry personnel. With widespread use, these binders may have the ability to diminish outdoor pollution and increase sustainable use of first-generation biomaterials that are otherwise discarded.