**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** SUMMARY:THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE COMMERCIAL FEASIBILITY OF PRODUCING BIO-BASED PACKAGING FOAM MATERIALS FROM CELLULOSE NANOMATERIALS, SUCH AS CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS (CNC) AND CELLULOSE NANOFIBRILS (CNF), TO REPLACE CURRENTLY UTILIZED PETROLEUM-BASED POLYSTYRENE FOAMS FOR SEAFOOD PACKAGING.WE HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT ULTRALIGHT AND STRONG BIO-BASED FOAMS CAN BE PRODUCED FROM CELLULOSE WITH EXCELLENT THERMAL INSULATION, FIRE RESISTANCE, MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND BIODEGRADABILITY. OUR GOAL IS TO PRODUCE FOAMS WITH 100% RENEWABLE MATERIALS TO REPLACE MANY TYPES OF PETROLEUM-BASED INSULATION MATERIALS UTILIZED IN FOOD PACKAGING, BUILDING, AND TRANSPORTATION. ONE OF THE LARGEST MARKETS IN THIS REGARD IS SEAFOOD PACKAGING. OCEAN PLASTIC POLLUTION HAS BECOME AN URGENT GLOBAL CRISIS THAT HAS A DIRECT IMPACT ON THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY. REPLACING PETROLEUM-BASED PACKAGING MATERIALS BY RENEWABLE AND BIODEGRADABLE PLANT-BASED ALTERNATIVES WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON CURBING OCEAN PLASTIC POLLUTION AND ENHANCING SEAFOOD SAFETY.TO THIS END, THIS PROJECT AIMS AT OPTIMIZING BIO-BASED PACKAGING MATERIAL SYSTEMS WITH ENHANCED PROPERTIES AND FUNCTIONALITIES THROUGH INTEGRATING INNOVATIONS IN CHEMISTRY, NANOMATERIALS, AND PROCESSING METHODS. WE HAVE DESIGNED A RESEARCH PROGRAM TO IMPLEMENT AND INTEGRATE SEVERAL NOVEL IDEAS, WITH AN OUTCOME TO PRODUCE BIO-BASED FOAMS THAT ARE SUPERIOR TO OR COMPETITIVE WITH THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE PETROLEUM-BASED COUNTERPARTS. TO ENSURE THE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS OF THIS APPLICATION, WE HAVE PLANNED LARGE SCALE EXPERIMENTS AND ALSO HAVE ESTABLISHED A COLLABORATION WITH SEALASKA COMPANY (HTTPS://WWW.SEALASKA.COM/) WHICH WILL PROVIDE US GUIDANCE FROM PRACTICAL INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS.TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL AND THE OBJECTIVES, THREE MAIN RESEARCH TASKS WILL BE CONDUCTED:OPTIMIZING THE FORMULATION AND COMPOSITION AND THE FABRICATION PROCESS OF CELLULOSE NANOMATERIALS BASED BIOFOAMS,EVALUATING THE PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE RESULTING FOAMS AND DETERMINING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MATERIAL FORMULATION, COMPOSITION, FABRICATION CONDITIONS, AND THE PERFORMANCE OF THE FOAMS,PRODUCING BIOFOAMS AT LARGE SCALE FOR SEAFOOD APPLICATIONS AND DETERMINING THE TECHNO-ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF BIOFOAM PRODUCTION FROM CELLULOSE NANOMATERIALS.