Tag: Wood

Warmth stored in building walls can be converted into energy, while flexible solar modules keep interiors cool. Yet a research team from Germany is looking to regulate room temperatures without using electricity at all. Its shade-giving system for windows is modelled on movements found in woody fruits. Taking its cue from pine cone scales, the team developed a sheet...

Sustainable paper can be produced from fallen leaves, while new furniture can be 3D printed with the help of sawdust. Now, a startup from Serbia is focusing its attention on a different waste product, using bark from trees to manufacture bioplastics. The team buys the typically incinerated bark from timber companies. It is ground to a fine powder, before...

Wood can replace window glass when its biopolymer lignin is removed. Now, a US research team has discovered that the same polymer can be used in a medical context. They combined lignin from spruce trees with positively charged ammonium ions, whose mildly acidic qualities are effective against mould, viruses and bacteria. Tests showed that an infectious but antibiotic-resistant type...

Sawdust can be 3D printed into kitchen utensils or cars parts. Now, a Canada-based research team has found a new use for the waste wood, combining it with a layer of tannins. These natural plant compounds, found in berries, tea and coffee, have anti-inflammatory properties and can even filter out UV rays. Aware that tannins also trigger multiple reactions...

Pick up or convertible? An electric vehicle concept gives consumers the opportunity to change. Not so easy with a house or a flat design, though. At least, until now. Thanks to a Cambridge-based research team, residents could soon alter the layout of their houses to meet their changing needs. No need to knock through interior walls when they are...

Gin and whisky are saving trees from being felled. Apple leftovers or kombucha are also playing their part. In the USA alone, wood processing produces 100 tonnes of sawdust annually, which could be used as packaging material. A Massachusetts-based startup is manufacturing furniture, kitchen utensils and automobile parts from the valuable waste product. Their design pieces come from a...

Potatoes can flourish thanks to waste from banana plants. Now, a research team based at North Carolina State University has turned its attention to leftovers of a different kind. In recent pilot studies they have been experimenting with sawdust in order to substitute Styrofoam packaging material. Out of finely ground wood scrap and residues from agricultural products, they created...

Drawing on what’s already there. It’s an increasingly popular approach when it comes to material innovations. Take coconut husks, for example. Now a design student from Illinois has developed a material, the color and grain of which resembles tropical wood. The key ingredient is cellulose, which is produced when Kombucha is made. A waste product, it is created by...