Circular economy business from wood

WCEF side event on 4 June at 7 pm
The Helsinki Central Library Oodi, Töölönkatu 4, Helsinki

From quantity to quality. Novel, high-value products from Finnish forests. Come, hear, touch and see how the future of cosmetics, chemicals, medicines, plastics, smart packaging and textile fabrics looks like. 

Programme:

7 pm          Welcome & short intro to the project: why we need circular products from wood? Jussi Manninen, VTT & Riitta Silvennoinen, Sitra

7:10 pm     Novel products by Sulapac, Paptic and Elastopoli in Pecha Kucha style

7:30 pm     Creating demand for circular products: a new marketing model, Ethica

7:40 pm     Speeding up the innovation process: rapid experimentation and innovation model by VTT

7:50 pm     Ecomodules, a tool for life cycle inventory creation and eco-design, LUKE

8:00 pm     2 min interviews with SYKE (Finnish Environmental Institute), Stora Enso, Isku, Montinutra, Lumene, Starcke and LAMK (Lahti University of Applied Sciences) on their R&D work in the Circular Economy from Wood project.

8:10 pm     Networking & opportunity to meet the companies & other project partners

Registration by 31^st May: https://www.lyyti.fi/reg/CEBusinessFromWood

You can also follow the event from youtube: https://youtu.be/7v3ItNTulRI

To whom: consumer brands, wood product manufacturers,  investors, public organisations, researchers and anyone interested in learning more about biobased products.

Exhibition showcasing novel materials & products is open and free of charge from 3rd – 5th June (library opening hours apply)

Circular economy business from wood is a Sitra funded project launched in summer 2018 and ending September 2019. In the project we are testing out a workshop model for rapid experimentation and innovation. Using this model, forestry companies, designers and marketers are developing together new business ideas for wood products. During the project, we are also studying the opportunities for developing the circular economy of wood products as well as implementing a new wood product life-cycle calculator and designing a circular economy marketing concept which will be available for all companies to use.

In addition, the companies participating in the project are developing together wood products that make use of technology in new ways. The goal is to create new, circular economy business activities in Finland and at the same time boost Finland’s international competitiveness.

This exhibition also features products from Crops4Luxury -project.

More info on the project:

Meet us at Expo in Finlandia Hall during World Circular Economy Forum 3^rd-4^th June!

https://www.sitra.fi/en/projects/circular-economy-business-wood/#what-is-it-about

Project site (in Finnish): https://puustapidemmalle.com/

BACKGROUND

The research aim was to achieve optimum conductive properties to cellulose based non-woven, using minimum amount of materials and chemicals, and with minimum processing steps. In the developed process, sonication is used to homogenize the dispersion of  carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nanocellulose. The dispersion is mixed with matrix fibres (e.g. cellulose pulp and viscose staple fibres) using foam forming. The produced conductive material can be in the form of non-woven textile or thick 3D-shaped element.

CHARACTERISTICS

Due to the used materials and processes, every single cellulose fibre in the created material structure is conductive.  The maximum achievable temperature in a heating structure is adjusted already in the production process by the amount of carbon nanotubes. CNTs act as a fire retardant.

TECHNICAL DATA

Heating of total volume – no hotspots. No fire hazard. Customization of the maximum temperature is possible. Low voltage (e.g. 9V) can be used in products, which means that they are safe and easy to install. Rapid cooling. No chemical reactions.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

There are limitless possibilities for using this invention in different applications. The conductive non-woven or element is also possible to implement inside different structures. Examples: Boat cabin walls, car interior panels and office chairs.

Heating element — Salmiakki

Materials: Pulp and viscose fibres, carbon nanotubes and nanocellulose.
Process: Foam and mold technology.
Team: Sanna Siljander (TUT), Jani Lehmonen and Atsushi Tanaka (VTT), and Anastasia Ivanova (Aalto university).

3D Render: Anastasia Ivanova
Photos: Eeva Suorlahti

BACKGROUND

A 3D-printer prototype was developed to explore various cellulosic materials in additive manufacturing. Various paste extruders were developed, tested and compared to commercially available paste extruders. A closed-loop control syringe pump design was shown to be most functional and was used to print various cellulose solutions and suspensions.

MACHINE CHARACTERISTICS

The extruder has accurate sensors for both linear movement and piston pressure. Different control algorithms can be efficiently tested with the developed software tools. The extruder can be operated in a speed or pressure mode which enables accurate dosing of liquids with different flow behaviors. An open-source software tool chain was used to make the digital manufacturing process both efficient and versatile.

TECHNICAL DATA

The extruder has been used to successfully print for example cellulose solutions, cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate butyrate solutions as well as different aqueous nanocellulose suspensions in different dry matter consistencies. The structure of the 3D printer enables facile printing on different substrates such as fabrics.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

Most publications related to e.g. printing of nanocellulose are focused on biomedical applications such as wound dressings and scaffold raw material for cartilage tissue engineering. Optimizing the printing process to achieve both good control of the geometry and high mechanical properties would broaden the application range to e.g. packaging and architecture.

Video: Eeva Suorlahti

BACKGROUND

Different cellulose-based materials have been successfully 3D printed during the DWOC project. A 3D-printing test platform has been developed to systematically test and improve extruder prototypes and find optimal printing parameters. Both cellulose derivatives (e.g. cellulose acetate) and nanocellulose have been tested.

CHARACTERISTICS

3D-printed objects can be designed to have a different characteristics. By using different slicing parameters (e.g. infill patterns and layer thicknesses), objects can be modified to suit different applications.  Different materials can be incorporated into a single model by using multiple extruders. Furthermore, cellulose-based materials can be printed on top of other materials, such as fabric.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

3D-printing can be used to create complex 3-dimensional objects. Properties can be tailor-made to fit the specific applications. Different structures (e.g. composites) can also be prototyped using 3D-printing. One promising area is prosthetics. Strong and biocompatible cellulose-based prosthetics can be printed to fit each individual perfectly. Optimizing the printing process to achieve both good control of the geometry and high mechanical properties would broaden the application range to e.g. packaging and architecture.

Photos: Eeva Suorlahti

BACKGROUND

Foamed pulp is used for the production of sound absorbing and insulating panels. The material’s density, stiffness, permeability, heat insulation or sound absorption can be tailored. The form of the panels can be customized on multiple scales by moulding with e.g. laser cut and vacuum formed plastic mould, or 3D printed mould. Multiple colour variants can be produced by mixing pulp from just a few different colour batches.

All-cellulose panels are easy to recycle after use.The foam forming process is simple and requires a relatively light infrastructure. The mouldability of the material enables tailored solutions.

CHARACTERISTICS

Physical Properties
Stiffness : Semi-rigid
Structure : Closed
Surface : Textures
Transparency : Opaque
Surface Hardness: Semi Hard, Soft

Acoustic Properties
Sound Absorbing, Sound Diffusing, Sound Reflecting

Sustainability Properties
Bio-degradable, Recyclable, Lightweight, Low Carbon Footprint, Single/Mono Material

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

Interior Acoustic Elements. Multifunctional products that can tackle various needs in construction and renovation can be manufactured. The dyed pulp and the form together provide interesting variation in the material visual qualities. Moreover, the surface texture enhanced its tactile properties and gave the material a feel of higher quality.

Photos by Eeva Suorlahti.

BACKGROUND

We have previously shown the possibility to utilize several different cellulosic materials on fabrics by 3D printing. Now we are moving beyond the visual and haptic effects by utilizing these materials to form functional structures and effects on textiles. We were able to create new forms and functionalities on fabrics by printing cellulosic materials with different shrinkage, hardness or haptic properties and adding small amounts of functional (e. g. reflective and thermochromic) powders.

CHARACTERISTICS

Materials used are mainly cellulosic derivatives and dissolved cellulose due to their good printability and controllable shrinking properties. These materials form hard, soft or shrinking structures that can be further functionalized with e.g. reflective or thermochromics beads.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

Potential applications could be found in textiles where functionalities or visual effects are needed. Possibilities are endless. For example, when mixed with pulp it can used as a seam for a flocking effect, when used with thermoresponsive content it can show when an electric current is passed through it and it can also be used on textile for a smocking effect.

Photos by Eeva Suorlahti.

BACKGROUND

Method to produce a novel laminated material structure combining nanocellulose and cellulose has been developed. No additional glue is used. Method has been demonstrated by creating interior architectural design elements.

CHARACTERISTICS

Material is strong and light. Various finishing possibilities include embossed patterns, printed pictures and painting of surface.  Wet material is possible to shape to 3D forms. Drilling and sawing of the material is possible by using conventional woodworking tools.

Material is totally bio-based and bio-degradable.

TECHNICAL DATA

Bending strength of this novel structure is 28 N/mm², which is higher than the strength of the tested reference materials chip board (8 N/mm²), gypsum board (EH, 10 N/mm²), MDF (26 N/mm²) and softwood plywood (22 N/mm²).

ECONOMY

Competitive raw material price, simple production process

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

• Interior architectural design elements
• An alternative for domestic dividing walls like gypsym and chip board
• Office dividing walls being light and sound absorbing
• Furniture

Photos: Eeva Suorlahti

BACKGROUND

Upcycling is becoming an increasingly hot topic in our society. It is part of the new bioeconomy concept which promotes the production of value added products with a substantially reduced impact on the environment. Upcycling reduces landfills, harvest of trees, the use of chemicals, and the demand of water. Ioncell newsprint fibers were spun from a deinked newsprint/(DBNH)OAc dope by a dry-jet wet spinning method. The cellulose concentration of the dope was 13%. Filament jets were coagulated in water. The fibers were cutted into staples with a 40 mm length before washing. The yarns were spun from a 50:50 blend of  Ioncell newsprint fibers and commercial viscose fibers. The fibers were carded, drafted together, and ring-spun into a yarn. The spun yarn was knitted and a final product was prepared. Read more about Ioncell.

CHARACTERISTICS

Ioncell newsprint fibers are strong even when wet. They feels soft and looks shiny. The cross section is circular. Fibers absorbs water and they are biodegradable.

TECHNICAL DATA

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

Using newsprint as raw material for cellulosic fiber spinning opens up new possibilities to upgrade waste material to high-value added products. Fibres spun from newsprint are suitable for textile application, bio-composites applications and other technical fibres. The staple lengths of 40-60 mm fibers can be used for short-staple yarn spinning as 100% or blended with natural or man-made fibers, and the staple lengths of 100-135 mm for long-staple yarn spinning. Yarns can be utilized in various textile applications, e.g. in knitted or woven fabrics. The staple lengths of 25-60 mm fibers can be used in nonwovens. Continuous filaments can be utilized in technical applications.

Photos: Eeva Suorlahti

TallennaTallenna

TallennaTallenna

BACKGROUND

Board is produced from pulp by foam forming and pressing. Foam forming enables production of a vast variety of fibre-based materials. Material of these boards contain only pulp and small amount of additives (like foaming additive).

CHARACTERISTICS

Density profile of these foam formed pulp boards (resembling plaster board) can be adjusted. Board surface can be designed – printed or patterned.

TECHNICAL DATA

Bending stiffness for the commercial peeled plaster board reference was 1.13 ± 0.13 MPa and correspondingly for the foam formed pulp board 2.95 ± 0.43 MP.

Maximum deflection for the commercial peeled plaster board was 0.5 ± 0.1 mm and correspondingly for the foam formed pulp board 14.45 ± 0.38 mm.

DECOR

Foam formed lamp shade
Produced by Anastasia Ivanova, Aalto University and Jani Lehmonen, VTT

Architectural and decorative objects with water cutting
Designed by Heidi Turunen, Aalto University, produced by Jani Lehmonen, VTT

Space Panel – Optical fibres integrated to foam formed pulp board production
Jukka Ketoja, Atsushi Tananka (VTT) Anastasia Ivanova (Aalto University)

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

Pulp based alternative for traditional plaster board. Decorative and functional elements.

Photos: Eeva Suorlahti

BACKGROUND

Deep eutectic solvents can be used as a spinning medium for producing wood fibre yarn without dissolution. We constructed a modular prototype spinning line, where process critical parameters could be measured and controlled. We studied the influence of various spinning parameters and  were able to increase the load bearing capability and decrease the linear density of the yarn.

MACHINE CHARACTERISTICS

An inclined channel with an ethanol flow is used to induce draw on the incipent yarn. By adjusting the angle of the channel and flow rate of ethanol of ethanol yarn can be continuously spun.

TECHNICAL DATA

The inclined channel spinning approach was shown to both reduce the linear density and increase the load bearing capability of the yarn. Linear densities were reduced from 21-24 tex to approximately 13 tex. Tenacities were improved from the previously reported 5.3 ± 1.8 cN/tex to 7.5 ± 0.3 cN/tex

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

Wood fibre yarns have possible applications in textiles, non-wovens and composites. For example pulp based wet-laid nonwovens could be produced by using wood fibre yarn instead of synthetic or viscose fibres.

Photo & Schematic: Ville Klar