How can we use trees to replace products currently made from fossil fuels?
Using trees as a source of goods and products might sound old-fashioned, but we have only just touched the surface of what the chemicals and materials they are made of can do.
Markus Mannström from Finnish renewables company Stora Enso said recently that: “We believe that everything made from fossil-based materials today, can be made from a tree tomorrow.” As research advances, trees and forests will play a bigger role in a more sustainable future. Here we explore five ways we could make more use of them:
1. Making adhesives from tall oil
Tall oil is a by-product of pulping coniferous trees and has been produced commercially since the 1930s.
Today it is used in asphalt roofing, as well as medical and cosmetic applications. One of the most exciting developments is as BioVerno– a renewable alternative to diesel.
2. Creating disinfectants and detergents from turpentine
Turpentine is produced from distilled tree resin and has been used since Roman times as torch or lamp fuel as well as medicine. Now it’s found in disinfectants, detergents and cleaning products, giving off a fresh, pine-like odour.
3. Replacing fossil fuels
Biomass pellets from working forests are one way trees are providing renewable energy. Another is cellulosic ethanol, a new generation of liquid biofuel. Made from non-food based materials such as forest and agricultural residues and timber processing wastes, this is now produced at a commercial scale in Europe, the US and Brazil.
Woody biomass can also be converted into a petroleum substitute called pyrolysis oil or bio-oil. This has a much higher energy density than biomass chips or pellets. After upgrading, it can be used as jet fuel or as a petroleum alternative in chemical manufacturing.
4. Making vanilla ice cream and carbon fibre
Lignin gives trees their tough, woody quality. It can also serve as a vanilla flavouring — which could make it important in the face of an impending vanilla pod shortage.
Research aims to unlock much more from the 50 million tonnes of lignin produced every year globally. One of the most promising is as an alternative source of a family of organic compound known as phenylpropanoids. Normally extracted from petroleum, these are hugely useful in producing plastics and carbon fibre, as well as drugs and paint.
5. Making the most of nanocellulose
Nanocellulose is the primary material in the cell walls of all green plants and one of the most important elements of forest production.
By shrinking cellulose down to a nano level it can be configured to be very strong while remaining very light– making it a powerful source of bioplastics.
Cellulose’s combination of strength and lightness could also help make cars become much lighter and therefore more fuel efficient. Its flexible, strong, transparent nature can also make Nanocellulose — an important material in helping bring bendable screens, batteries, cosmetics, paper, pharmaceuticals, optical sensors and devices to the market.
