Tag: Wood

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...

A lightbulb moment. Transparent wood was first introduced as an alternative to glass or plastic in 2016. To create the see-through material, lignin - the component in wood that absorbs most light - is removed. The resulting pores need to be filled to reinforce the wood again. Until recently that was achieved with synthetic polymers from non-renewable raw materials....

We take on average 17 minutes to consume our meals. Which equates to something of a cameo appearance for chopsticks, given the distance they travel to reach our dining table – especially when their final destination is usually the trash. A Canadian startup is putting an end to this by providing recycled chopsticks with a thrill-seeking second life. Forget...