Hardwood from Softwood
The Age of Biopolymers?
Electron microscope image of wood showing its cellular structure
(click to enlarge)
Electron microscope images of wood showing its cellular structure
(click to enlarge)
Nu Wood flooring (click to enlarge)
This century has been named the Age of Materials. It's likely technology will advance by improving materials of all types. Metallic materials and non-metallic materials – plastics, ceramics, glass, carbon fibre – will be used increasingly in mixtures, and composites. The ingredients for combination will include biological materials, and among them wood and its constituents.
Over the past century, synthetic polymers such as nylon and polyethylene and have become ubiquitous, reliance on them is being questioned. Most plastics are derived from non-renewable resources and are not biodegradeable. The very durability and strength that makes them so useful ensures their persistence in the environment and complicates their disposal. The synthesis of some materials also involves toxic compounds or the generation of toxic by-products. These concerns have turned attention to bio-polymers.
Bio-polymers are a class of diverse "giant" molecules, consisting of discrete building blocks (monomers) linked into chains. Proteins are biopolymers, and so are polysaccharides such as starch and cellulose. Derived from biological precursors or produced using biotechnology, bio-polymers have a huge range of potential applications, including adhesives, absorbents, lubricants, textiles, and high-strength materials. While many potential applications are still in the developmental stage, some have already emerged in the packaging, food production and medical fields.
Because they are biodegradable, bio-polymers may reduce waste to landfills or incinerators. They may also permit more environmentally benign manufacturing processes. Producing many advanced materials involves energy-hungry processes that create or require toxic substances. Living organisms, on the other hand, can produce sophisticated materials under low temperature and pressure without creating toxic by-products. Spiders, for example, can transform water-soluble protein droplets into an insoluble web using very little energy.
(Some bio-polymers may also replace synthetics, reducing the use of petro-chemicals, but it is easy to overstate the case. In the USA, about 15 percent of all materials used for commercial purposes are derived from petroleum, but only 3 percent of petroleum supplies are used to produce petrochemicals and synthetic resins. The substitution of biopolymers would not by itself significantly affect oil consumption.)
By harnessing enzymes found in nature or by transforming agricultural or marine feedstocks, a new class of biodegradeable, biocompatible and renewable material may be created. And it's on this vision that Forest Research has hung its hopes. Late last year, it announced a radical shift, away from its traditional focus on forestry and wood processing, towards creating "totally new value chains" from biomaterials – non-food materials derived from plants.
