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Bio-Based Wood Composite12-01-09 | News

Bio-Based Wood Composite

Stanford University researchers have developed a synthetic wood substitute that may one day save trees, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shrink landfills. They expect this synthetic wood will be sturdy enough to build a house frame and pliable enough to carve. The team of engineers says the faux timber (bacteria-derived biodegradable plastic resin bound to hemp fibers) could not only replace dozens of construction materials, it decomposes in a landfill after a few weeks, emitting methane that can be used to make more synthetic wood.

Made from a new, biodegradable plastic, this bio-based wood composite could be used in a variety of building materials and perhaps replace the petrochemical plastics now used in billions of disposable water bottles.

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The hemp-PHB biocomposites are stable enough to use in furniture, floors and a variety of other building materials, he added. To degrade, it must be kept away from air, e.g., buried in a landfill, because its decomposition depends on microorganisms that live in anaerobic environments.

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Recycling methane

Unlike wood scraps that can sit in landfills for months or years, hemp-PHB biocomposites decompose a few weeks after burial. As they degrade, they release methane gas that can be captured and burned for energy recovery or re-used to make more biocomposites.

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Capturing methane has the added benefit of combating climate change, Criddle said, noting that methane gas from landfills and other sources is a powerful global warming agent, 22 times more potent than carbon dioxide gas.

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