Brian Whitley
Almost 40 years ago, American scientists took their first steps in a quest to break the world’s dependence on plastics. But in those four decades, plastic products have become so cheap and durable that not even the forces of nature seem able to stop them. A soupy expanse of plastic waste—too tough for bacteria to break down—now covers an estimated 1 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean.
Sensing a hazard, researchers started hunting for a substitute for plastic’s main ingredient, petroleum. They wanted something renewable, biodegradable, and abundant enough to be inexpensive.
Though they stumbled upon a great candidate early on, many US chemists had given up on it by the end of the 1990s. The failed wonder material: lignin, the natural compound that lends strength to trees. A waste product from paper production, much of the lignin supply is simply burned as fuel.
But while many scientists turned to other green options, a German company, Tecnaro, says it found the magic formula. Its “liquid wood” can be moulded like plastic, yet biodegrades over time.
Now, Tecnaro’s success could revive interest in lignin and propel the search for better and cheaper bioplastics.
“The lignin itself was misunderstood completely by [leaders in the field] and the majority of people,” says Simo Sarkanen, an environmental science professor at the University of Minnesota.
This past holiday season, nativity figurines made from Tecnaro’s “liquid wood” raised eyebrows among the bioplastic community. Sold as Arboform, the tough mixture is chock full of lignin—sometimes more than 50%, compared with the 30% threshold where many researchers would max out. The rest is fibre from wood, flax, or hemp, as well as a few additives.
Raw Arboform consists of dark brown pebble-sized pellets. It is processed using the same equipment used to make conventional plastic. The granules are dropped into a barrel and heated until they melt. Then the contents are highly pressurized and forced into a rigid mould—that of a figurine, perhaps.
As the liquid cools, Arboform actually conforms better than most plastics to the boundaries of complex moulds, says Benjamin Porter, a researcher with Tecnaro. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
Almost 40 years ago, American scientists took their first steps in a quest to break the world’s dependence on plastics. But in those four decades, plastic products have become so cheap and durable that not even the forces of nature seem able to stop them. A soupy expanse of plastic waste—too tough for bacteria to break down—now covers an estimated 1 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean.
Sensing a hazard, researchers started hunting for a substitute for plastic’s main ingredient, petroleum. They wanted something renewable, biodegradable, and abundant enough to be inexpensive.
Though they stumbled upon a great candidate early on, many US chemists had given up on it by the end of the 1990s. The failed wonder material: lignin, the natural compound that lends strength to trees. A waste product from paper production, much of the lignin supply is simply burned as fuel.
But while many scientists turned to other green options, a German company, Tecnaro, says it found the magic formula. Its “liquid wood” can be moulded like plastic, yet biodegrades over time.
Now, Tecnaro’s success could revive interest in lignin and propel the search for better and cheaper bioplastics.
“The lignin itself was misunderstood completely by [leaders in the field] and the majority of people,” says Simo Sarkanen, an environmental science professor at the University of Minnesota.
This past holiday season, nativity figurines made from Tecnaro’s “liquid wood” raised eyebrows among the bioplastic community. Sold as Arboform, the tough mixture is chock full of lignin—sometimes more than 50%, compared with the 30% threshold where many researchers would max out. The rest is fibre from wood, flax, or hemp, as well as a few additives.
Raw Arboform consists of dark brown pebble-sized pellets. It is processed using the same equipment used to make conventional plastic. The granules are dropped into a barrel and heated until they melt. Then the contents are highly pressurized and forced into a rigid mould—that of a figurine, perhaps.
As the liquid cools, Arboform actually conforms better than most plastics to the boundaries of complex moulds, says Benjamin Porter, a researcher with Tecnaro. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
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