Advanced Materials Design Based on Waste Wood and Bark
New Paper by Members of »Weaving« published in »Philosophical Transactions A«
Cluster members Charlett Wenig, Friedrich J. Reppe, Karin Krauthausen, Peter Fratzl and Michaela Eder together with their colleagues John W. C. Dunlop, Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten and Nils Horbelt published a paper in the journal »Philosophical Transactions A« edited by »The Royal Society«.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2020.0345
Abstract: Trees belong to the largest living organisms on Earth and plants in general are one of our main renewable resources. Wood as a material has been used since the beginning of humankind. Today, forestry still provides rawmaterials for a variety of applications, for example in the building industry, in paper manufacturing and for various wood products. However, many parts of the tree, such as reaction wood, branches and bark are often discarded as forestry residues and waste wood, used as additives in composite materials or burned for energy production. More advanced uses of bark include the extraction of chemical substances for glues, food additives or healthcare, as well as the transformation to advanced carbon materials. Here, we argue that a proper understanding of the internal fibrous structure and the resulting mechanical behaviour of these forest residues allows for the design of materials with greatly varying properties and applications. We show that simple and cheap treatments can give tree bark a leather-like appearance that can be used for the construction of shelters and even the fabrication of woven textiles. This article is part of the theme issue »Bio-derived and bioinspired sustainable advanced materials for emerging technologies«.