When it comes to the new world of wood products research, it seems like the sky is literally the limit (think wood skyscrapers that are becoming a reality). Wood fiber is being used creatively in the development of soon-to-be-affordable microchips, beer bottles, wood foam packaging material, super strong paper that can replace metal, 3D printing, multi-story buildings and more. Did I mention technology that takes a unique approach to folding paper that can make paper pallets extra stiff, or one that pushes whiskey through wood under high pressure that can have it aged and ready to drink in a week?
What Is Wood Science?
To take a step back, wood science is an applied field of study that explores different aspects of wood and wooden products. Wood physics, wood chemistry, wood biology, chemical technologies and physical technologies are some of the sub-disciplines of the field. The study of wood science enables us to know about chemical and structural composition of wood and wood composites; chemical, mechanical and physical characteristics of wood; cell wall and wood formation; microbiological degradation of wood; and relevant methodological developments. It also covers various wood technologies such as wood mechanics, wood modification, gluing, machining, finishing, the conversion of wood into pulp, composite technology, biorefinery products and creep.
Researchers are unlocking many uses for wood beyond the traditional markets. And this means if you look around you can find progressive and possibly more profitable ways to use waste wood. Who knows you might even help develop a new use for wood?
The cellular structure of wood creates a stiff, lightweight product that has long been valued in construction. More recently, however, its role in construction of larger buildings is gaining increased interest as a lower cost, less polluting approach. Even more exciting is the development of products from nanocrystalline cellulose, the tiny, light, transparent and strong fibrils and crystals found in wood, and increasingly being deployed in a variety of applications ranging from flexible displays and electronic components to body armor. This is being regarded as the new wonder material of the world, and according to one estimate, could be a $600 billion industry by the year 2020.
Why Study Wood Science?
In the United States, an estimated 10.6 million people are employed by the wood products and related industries. Approximately 22 universities in the United States have programs designed especially to educate professionals to manage and provide technical support to various wood product industries. They and private researchers are finding some great new uses for wood products.
The bottom line is that by supporting the development and use of environmentally friendly products derived from wood, we are helping to promote the demand for forest products and a sustainable forest base, increasing opportunities to sequester carbon, while supplying products that typically have a lower carbon footprint than alternatives. Let’s take a look at some of the products and processes being developed.
One Week to Award Winning Whiskey
A technology company with a whiskey problem? This innovative combination of physics and chemistry may or may not qualify as wood science, but it is a breakthrough that has raised headlines (and glasses) for Cleveland Whiskey, a Cleveland, Ohio distiller. Tom Lix, the company’s CEO and founder, does not see his business as that of a craft distiller or a micro-distiller. He views Cleveland Whiskey as a technology company that employs science to accelerate the whiskey aging process. That process involves the utilization of intense pressure in stainless steel tanks to push new whiskey through wood, resulting in a flavorful whiskey that is ready to ship in just a week, versus years taken with conventional contact aging in wood barrels. Lix said that he was exploding mason jars in his basement for years until he perfected the process. An extra bonus to the bottom line, the stainless steel tanks do not lose the ‘angel’s share,’ the 3-6% of whiskey annually lost to evaporation during barrel aging.
A New Pallet in the Fold
What if you could more cost effectively build a better pallet through the use of manufacturing technologies that mechanically fold sheet materials such as paper rather than through conventional cardboard fluting or honeycomb?
“Tessellated Group, of Napa, California, has designed a paper-based block pallet that features the company’s ‘engineered origami’,” said Greg Gale, founder and president of Tessellated Group. “This proprietary structure provides high stiffness and low density with compressive support in all three axes. Cell sizes of the structure can be adjusted to achieve specific performance capabilities. A protective ‘skirt’ also serves as a graphic platform.”
Foaming at New Opportunities for Packaging, Insulation and Construction
While most foam is derived from petrochemical plastics, a new type of foam has been developed from wood fiber, with potential for packaging, thermal insulation and lightweight construction.
“Our wood foam can be used in exactly the same way as conventional plastic foams, but is an entirely natural product made from sustainable raw materials,” stated Professor Volker Thole, department head for process technology and system technology for wood-based materials at Germany’s Fraunhofer WKI. Another huge benefit is that unlike conventional foams, the wood foam is easily recycled after use. Wood foam packaging material, for instance, can be dropped into the paper recycling bin. The product won a 2015 GreenTec Award in the “Construction and Living” category.
The wood foam is produced by a process of first grinding fine wood particles into a viscous mass, and then injecting gas to create a frothy foam. The foam hardens over time, thanks to natural substances found in the wood. The lightweight material can be formed into rigid boards or flexible sheets which can be easily cut to the required size.
Super Strong Paper to Replace Metal?
As it turns out, paper fabricated from cellulose fibers gets tougher and stronger, the smaller the fibers used. Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) who made the discovery noted that engineers have long sought a material boasting both superior strength (resistant to non-recoverable deformation) and toughness (tolerant of damage).
“Strength and toughness are often exclusive to each other,” declared Teng Li, associate professor of mechanical engineering at UMD. “For example, a stronger material tends to be brittle, like cast iron or diamond.” They made paper out of fibers far too small to see with the naked eye. Sheets formed from 10-nanometer-thick fibers were 40 times tougher and 130 times stronger than regular notebook paper, which in turn is manufactured from fibers a thousand times larger.
Li believes that such high performance lightweight cellulose-based materials might one day replace structural materials such as metals in applications where weight is critical.
Optical Sensors and Computer Chips
Nanopaper, it turns out, is also a material well suited for applications such as optical sensors and computer chip substrate. Boasting much lower surface roughness and much higher transparency than conventional paper, nanopaper shows promise for use in sensors for such applications as medicine, process control, explosives detection, environmental studies and more, according to nanoscience researchers in Spain.
In another application, University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists are looking at computer chips derived almost totally from wood as a sustainable alternative to non-renewable, and potentially toxic conventional chips. The chip substrate, or support layer, is made of cellulose nanofibril (CNF), a flexible, biodegradable material made from wood.
“Now the chips are so safe you can put them in the forest and fungus will degrade it,” commented UW-Madison electrical and computer engineering professor Zhenqiang “Jack” Ma stated in a UWM publication. “They become as safe as fertilizer.”
Building Wood Structures as Tall as Trees
“The skyscrapers of the future will be made of wood,” proclaimed a recent headline in Discover magazine. A Canadian architect Michael Green is quoted in the article, “We grow trees in British Columbia that are 35 stories tall, so why do our building codes restrict timber buildings to only five stories?” Increasingly, builders are looking at wood buildings as a much more sustainable alternative to high carbon footprint construction utilizing steel and concrete.
A new seven-story structure broke ground this July in Chicago, and will be the first building of its kind in the United States. B.C. Green, whose firm also designed the seven story Wood Innovation and Design Centre in Prince George, British Columbia, describes the approach as a marriage of old and new techniques, including large timbers
and engineered lumber panels. Abroad, a 14-story residential building was very recently completed in Bergen, Norway, and a 34-story wood tower is planned for completion in Sweden by 2023.
Just a few decades ago, it seemed that wood products were on the defensive against other substitutes such as steel studs, composites and plastics. As the possibilities for wood fiber continue to be explored, it will be exciting to see what the future holds for innovative wood products. This could lead to a whole new renaissance of using wood and open up new markets for wood waste and lumber. Of course, this could also lead to greater competition for material in the future. This could come with a mixture of blessings and challenges for the wooden pallet sector. Who knows what new scientific breakthroughs could lead to the development of the pallet of the future.
