Transmaterial

Liquid Wood

Renewable raw materials ease the burden on the environment. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Pfinztal near Karlsruhe, led by Prof. Peter Eyerer and Dr. Norbert Eisenreich, are developing a thermoplastic material – deformable under heat – based on natural resources. The unusual thing about this material, which is known as Arboform, is that although it possesses similar properties to wood, it can be cheaply injection-molded like a plastic. This can be a major advantage in production, for example, in the manufacture of molded parts for the automobile industry.

One of the raw materials used in Arboform is lignin. This is the substance that gives wood its rigidity. Lignin is the second most frequently occurring polymer in nature. Every year millions of tons of it are produced as a by-product in the paper industry. Up to now lignin has mainly been burned in order to produce energy, but this renewable material can also be used in a different way: when lignin is mixed with natural fibers, the thermoplastic material Arboform is formed. This can be used in many applications as a substitute for synthetic materials derived from oil. "We have been working for two years on the optimum composition of natural polymers and natural fibers," Helmut Nägele and Jürgen Pfitzer of the ICT report. The scientists are working on ways of making Arboform more malleable and more heat-resistant.

Because Arboform possesses the same material properties as wood, it can be used in the design of the base material. In the future wooden materials made from lignin could replace traditional synthetics such as polyamide or other substances used to build computers, televisions or mobile phone cases. The scientists are tailoring the "liquid wood" to special processing technologies and product requirements and are implementing their innovations at the spin-off company, Tecnaro GmbH. [Excerpted from the Fraunhofer Institute's website.]

posted by Blaine @ 12:03 PM