Based on a new discovery by researchers at Oregon State
University, the world’s multi-billion dollar foundry industry may soon develop
a sweet tooth.
This industry, that produces metal castings used in
everything from water pumps and jet engines to railroad and automobile parts, dates
back thousands of years to before Greek and Roman times. It was important in
the advance of human civilization, but still continues to evolve.
Some modern technologies use various types of “binders” to
essentially glue together sands and other materials to form sophisticated
molds, into which molten metals are injected to create products with complex
shapes. Existing approaches work, but some materials used today, such as furan
resins and phenol formaldehyde resins, can emit toxic fumes during the process.