Scientists Juergen Pfitzer and Helmut Naegele, working with Norbert Eisenreich, Wilhelm Eckl and Emilia Inone-Kauffmann found that lignin, a key ingredient in every piece of wood, can be “transformed” into a renewable plastic if it’s combined with resins, flax and other natural fibers. The resulting bio-plastic, called Arboform, can be thermoformed, foamed, or molded via injection machines.  It’s durable and super-precise when it’s cast, and it degrades similar to wood into water, hummus humus, and carbon dioxide (Nicola). 

Image courtesy http://www.tecmente.comuf.com/

130 million pounds of lignin are produced by the paper and pulp industry each year as a waste product of the paper-making process.  Manufacturers need to remove the lignin from cellulose in order to make paper white; they usually just burn it away.  Arboform diverts the lignin from the waste stream so manufacturers don’t need to cut additional trees to produce it.  Lignin could replace millions of barrels of oil that go into making traditional plastics.

Tecnarowas founded in 1998 by the scientists to produce and offer Arboform commercially.  In 2010, the company is “due to produce 275 tons of Arboform and several other biodegradable and renewable polymers it has developed over the past years.  Several products made of Arboform have been revealed, including baby toys, furniture, castings for watches, designer loudspeakers (Arboform has wood-like acoustic qualities), golf tees that degrade on the course and even coffins” (Nicola).  Car manufacturers are using Arboform for dashboards and interior designers are having it cast into small knobs and other intricate pieces that would be difficult to create with wood.

Image courtesy Tecnaro

Regular plastics “cost between70 cents and $3.20 per pound, the price for Arboform starts at $1.70 per pound. If the oil price continues to rise, then Arboform might even be cheaper one day. Its environmental price tag is already hard to beat” (Nicola).  I find the concept of this product exciting: they’re taking lignin out of the waste stream and using it to make useful objects that degrade harmlessly when they’ve outlived their usefulness.  Can’t beat it.

WU XING:

I’m filing Arboform under wood, because it is completely wood-like, and water, because it can be thermoformed and thus has characteristics of a liquid.

Cited:

Nicola, Stefan. “German Company Sells Liquid Wood.” Spacemart.com. 11/20/09.  Accessed 07/28/10.  URL.

Image courtesy EcoPaparazzi

“Polymer” is the generic term for materials formed from large quantities of long chains of molecules called monomers.  The properties of any particular polymer are determined by the length and unique molecular structure of the chains.  Biopolymers consist of substances derived from renewable resources such as plants, animals, or bacteria: starches from potatoes, corn, tapioca, wheat or maize, cellulose from vegetable cell walls, or proteins such as silk, spider’s webs, or hair (Schmidt).  They are composed of as few components as possible, so that biopolymers degrade more easily and are simpler to recycle than traditional petroleum-based synthetic plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polyester.  For an in-depth discussion of the properties of plastic especially as they relate to architecture, check out Architecture and Plastic.

PLA Pellets, Image Courtesy earthcycleblog.com

PLA (polylactic acid) is one of the most important biodegradable plastics around today.  Lactic acid is the base material for this biopolymer, which is especially valued for short-dated packaging (films and foils) but it can also be used for long-life products depending on its composition (Schmidt).  From now on when I’m sore from working out I’m going to think about PLA.  Is that weird?

Pressed PLA Granules.  Image courtesy architonic.com

PLA and other biopolymers are seeing upticks in demand due to economies inherent in increased production capacity and widespread interest in degradable plastics.  I’ve come across a lot of examples of biopolymers in consumer products, but I’d be interested to know if any long-lasting bioplastics have made their way into construction. Oh, and next time you’re in the market for some plastic spoons, look for the ones made from corn.

Freeform Plastic.  Image courtesy architonic.com

WU XING – WOOD

Biopolymers exhibit the characteristics attributed to wood: strength and flexibility.  In this case, one of the primary benefits of using this material is the ease with which it is destroyed by natural processes: sunlight, water, etc. after it has served its purpose.

Cited:

Faircloth, Billie.  “Plastic Paradigms in Architecture and Plastic.” Architecture and Plastic – acsa-arch.org. Accessed 01/27/10. URL.

Goldberry, Clare.  “Plastics: The Bioresin Revolution.” Area Development.com June/July 2008.  Accessed 01/26/10.  URL.

Schmidt, Nora. “Moulded Nature.” Architonic.com.  Accessed 01/26/10. URL.