We’re excited to share that FiberX has been featured in the May 2025 edition of Compounding World magazine, highlighting our pioneering work in transforming agricultural residues into high-performance materials.
Revolutionizing Natural Fillers for Sustainable Compounds
The article, titled “Natural fillers reduce carbon footprint” (page 13), spotlights our innovative process for converting corn stover—the agricultural residue consisting of corn stalks, leaves, cobs, and husks—into valuable microfibers for use in thermoplastics.
As the magazine notes, FiberX has successfully developed a proprietary technique to transform this abundant agricultural byproduct into microfibers as small as 125 microns. These fibers serve as excellent functional fillers in plastic compounds, offering multiple benefits:
- Enhanced Performance: The corn stover fibers can double the strength and improve rigidity by approximately 50% in PP, PE, PHA, and PLA compounds
- Reduced Carbon Footprint: By capturing carbon from crop residue that would otherwise decompose
- Cost Reduction: Lowering the cost of goods of the final product
- Petroleum Displacement: Enabling reduction of up to 50% of petroleum-based resins
Applications Across Industries
The article highlights how our material can potentially replace glass fiber in many applications—particularly in products where increased strength is important, such as boards or fluid handling equipment. Additionally, our technology is helping businesses achieve their goals of reducing petroleum-based resin content while maintaining or improving performance.
One of our recent successes noted in the article was testing our material at fill rates as high as 50% in a PHA for applications where the PHA functions as a biodegradable compatibilizer. This breakthrough demonstrates how our technology can improve physical properties and reduce costs in bio-based polymers, making sustainable materials more accessible and commercially viable.
A Win-Win-Win Solution
As quoted in the magazine: “It’s a big win-win-win for resin manufacturers, brand owners and consumers as corn stover fiber’s advantage is to increase physical performance, reduce cost-of-goods, and support biodegradation,” said Dave Skibinski, President and CEO of FiberX.
Looking Ahead
FiberX continues to focus on nationwide distribution in the United States and Canada, with plans to explore partnerships to reach markets on other continents. We’re also investigating a de-lignified form of corn stover fiber that could further improve physical properties, expand color options, and potentially allow higher extrusion and injection molding temperatures.
We’re proud to be recognized by Compounding World for our contribution to sustainable materials innovation. This feature validates our mission to unlock the full potential of corn stover as a renewable feedstock for the chemicals and materials industries.
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to develop innovative, eco-friendly solutions that enhance performance while reducing environmental impact.
