Printed circuit board substrates derived from lignocellulose nanofibrils

PaulHoule | 36 points

This study underscores the potential of wood-derived nanomaterials like LCNF to reduce electronic waste (e-waste) associated with conventional PCB materials and promote the development of a more eco-friendly electronics, contributing to sustainable, high-performance ecoPCBs and advancing green technology.

So many trendy eco-virtue-signaling buzzwords, but as anyone who has worked with attempting to repair FR-1/FR-2 (SRBP) PCBs will tell you, they've been making them out of cellulose-derived materials for around a century; but they just aren't very good.

"Sustainable" = "doesn't last very long and is impossible to repair, sustaining the business of selling you a new one".

userbinator | 2 days ago

This story gives me nightmares!

Why? I recently had a repair bill of more than $12,000 for my Kia EV6, after rats got under the hood and chewed through a critical wiring harness.

Of course rats will chew through most anything, but the EV6 apparently has soy-based insulation on the wiring instead of traditional plastic. So it is extra tasty for rats!

GEICO covered everything beyond my $1000 comprehensive deductible, but I don't want to be thought of as an irresponsible policyholder, especially with the great rate they gave me on this car - literally half of my previous policy.

So I have taken extensive countermeasures. If anyone is curious, feel free to ask and I will list them.

Stratoscope | 2 days ago

We’ve got people making circuits from woody plant fibers and people making circuits from microbes that eat woody plant fibers.

Definitely want to keep those two factories separate. And don’t get the former wet.

hinkley | 2 days ago

> The research outlines the process of fibrillating lignin-rich cellulose pulp at 10 kW/h per kg into LCNF

That unit doesn't look right.

Why can't we all just use SI anyway :(

Y_Y | 2 days ago

Not one mention of the material's dialectric constant

variaga | 2 days ago

So now we can have a few more failure modes. Dry rot, black mold, short caused by moisture, maybe even termite in electronics.

ycui1986 | 2 days ago

I suspect this material is dead on arrival because they don't compare how fire retardant it is compared to FR4 or evaluate whether it meets the UL 94V-0 fire safety standard.

throwup238 | 2 days ago