Wooden it be nice

Cellulose nanofibres made from wood fibre are being used to produce strong, ultralight new biomaterials that could be used in car manufacture.

Finnish researchers are exploring new avenues opened up by the manufacture of cellulose-based nanofibres, which can be used to produce extremely strong and modifiable materials. These efforts are backed by environmental concerns which lend ever stronger support to the demand for wider utilisation of natural, fibre-based materials.

“Forest cluster companies operating in Finland are on the lookout for new forest products. In order to be able to meet the challenges of these companies we need to improve the current level of know-how in wood-based products and wood processing at molecular level. New territory has been charted, for example, in the areas of composites and nanomaterials,” said Professor Janne Laine of the Helsinki University of Technology’s Department of Forest Products Technology.

Interest in cellulose-based nanofibres is primarily driven by its environmental value as a biomaterial. It is also known that nanomaterials can be used to achieve strength properties which are not attainable with larger particles. Furthermore, the smaller the particle is, the bigger the surface area, which in turn increases the desired interactivity with other materials.