Lignin-based coating could create sustainable and long lasting wood structures
Siobhan Treacy | August 04, 2021Researchers from Aalto University created a bio-based coating for wood that will create stronger and more protected wood structures.
More countries are looking to replace concrete with wood in new structures. For example, France stated that all new public buildings will be made with at least 50% wood or sustainable materials starting in 2022.
Source: Fotoni Film & Communications
While this development is promising, wood is prone to degradation when exposed to sunlight and weather. Protective coatings can save the wood from the elements and bring it into wider use. Currently, widely used coatings are often petroleum-based and made of substances that are harmful to the environment. While there are some vegetable oil-based coatings on the market that are more eco-friendly, these coatings lack durability and are ultimately combined with a synthetic coating.
The researchers found that lignin could be the eco-friendly solution that construction developers have been searching for. Lignin could create a safe, cheap and high-performing coating for construction. Lignin is a natural polymer that is abundant in wood and other plants. Lignin is produced as a waste product from pulping biorefinery processes.
Lignin is more water repellant than many commercial coatings. It retains the natural structure of wood and micro seals roughness. Lignin creates wood that is resistant to stains and color changes from sunlight while retaining wood breathability. It is also anti-corrosion, anti-bacterial, anti-icing and has UV shielding properties.
In the future, the team plans to develop the coating to feature more useful characteristics like elasticity.
A paper on the new coating was published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
Ha! What a joke the human race has become. We will now chop down the very trees and forests that supply our oxygen to build more boxes for humans to reside in. The very wood that has been chemically processed and treated to be weather resistant. Then we like to believe that the dead wood will still absorb CO2 and save the world.
We now pretty much mandate that it is OK to harvest trees anywhere and make illegal logging part of the supply chain. Supply and demand you say: Hmm! Let the trees supply the oxygen we thrive on and that is not a request, its a demand by all people.
Lignin-based coating could create, Should this not be proven to be shall or will?
I guess the upside is that no more forest fires will happen and they in turn will not burn down wooden buildings. Italy, Greece, Turkey, Siberia and the US will now be declared safe areas. The wild life can now move into your wooden building and live happily ever after in the rafters.