Would you be surprised that a wood based material sucks up pollutants in the air? Technology is allowing more and more ways to utilize wood in different products. Let’s look at some different products made from wood that didn’t exist ten years ago.
Paper into wood
PaperShell is a Swedish start up that has figured out how to take many layers of paper combined with bio-resin and subject them to intensive compression to make furniture, automotive parts or facades to decorate a wall or building. It is light weight and weather resistant. This allows paper to be recycled into a usable product. Unused portions can be turned into biochar.
Tylenol pain killer
Acetaminophen is the main ingredient of a lot of pain killers and is presently derived from coal tar or petroleum. Building on a previous method to produce paracetamol (another name for acetaminophen) researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come up with a way to extract paracetamol from poplar (aspen) trees. Other drugs, pigments, textiles and biodegradable plastics can also be derived by breaking down the lignin in the poplar trees to potentially create a competitive market with these petroleum based products.
Timber tiles
Ceramic tile is a huge energy intensive industry. Waterproof Timber Tiles can replace ceramic wall tiles in high traffic areas like bathrooms, kitchens, and foyers and are compostable at end of life unlike ceramic tiles that end up in landfills. The wood is cut into pieces which are glued, dried, milled, planed, sanded, treated with wax, and cured with UV light to form a warm inviting atmosphere.
Wood based air purifier
A Swedish start up, Adsorbi, is using a wood-cellulose-based material to suck up pollutants from the air. The tiny sponge like material is a greener alternative to activated carbon, which is the main source used to suck up harmful pollution in air filters and odor removing products. Adsorbi’s material lasts longer, releases no hazardous organic compounds and is water and fire resistant as well as having half the carbon footprint.
Wood based counter tops
Woodio, which has been producing sinks, bathtubs and toilet seats made of wood composite material, has started making countertop material as an alternative to ceramics or stone. The material is lightweight, easy to care for and shock resistant. It can be used for shelving and worktops both indoors and outdoors.
Wood foam for heating and cooling
Juha Koivisto, a researcher at Aalto University in Finland, has discovered a way that the exterior cladding on a building can help keep the building warmer or cooler. This wood-based foam that is ninety percent air, but as strong as concrete or glass, can contract and expand based on temperature and humidity. This opens and closes air vents in the cladding.
Interested in other new items made from wood? Check out these other blogs:
Here is where I got the information for this blog:
Timber Tiles replace ceramic wall tiles.
