Post by account_disabled on Feb 27, 2024 5:47:34 GMT
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) found that transparent wood had a significantly lower environmental impact and was five times more efficient than glass, which could help reduce energy costs, a study revealed.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, million tonnes of plastic are generated annually, the majority of which comes from single-use plastic. While countries are making progress in reducing this waste through paper bags and straws, there are also applications where the properties of plastic are necessary.
Clear wood is an alternative for such applications and is highly preferred as it prevents damage from petroleum - based plastic products. Transparent wood was first made by German scientist Siegfried Fink in , and over the past three decades other researchers have also significantly improved it.
How is transparent wood made?
In its natural form, wood is opaque. However, researchers have discovered that removing lignin, a natural biopolymer that provides structural support to plant tissue, can make it transparent. To make it, the wood is soa Brazil Mobile Number List ked in a warm solution consisting of multiple chemicals, such as sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfite, and sodium hypochlorite, and then boiled in a hydrogen peroxide solution.
This removes the lignin completely and turns the wood white. However, the space occupied by lignin must be filled to preserve structural integrity. This process, called infiltration, is done by using a resin such as epoxy or polymethyl methacrylate or PMMA at temperatures of Fahrenheit ( o C).
The final product can have up to % transparency, unlike glass, it is shatterproof. More importantly, it is more biodegradable than glass or plastic.
Transparent wood life cycle assessment
While transparent wood is not yet commercial, it has been implemented in a wide variety of applications ranging from construction to energy storage , making electronics and flexible packaging.
IIT researchers conducted a life cycle analysis (LCA) of transparent wood to determine the environmental impact of its production cycle and end-of-life (EOL). The study found that using hydrogen peroxide for delignification, followed by using epoxy for infiltration, was the most environmentally friendly.
The approach has " percent less global warming potential" and " percent less land acidification" compared to another method that used sodium chlorite for delignification and PMMA for infiltration, the researchers wrote in a article. When scaled up for industrial production, the first method would reduce electricity consumption by up to percent.
The EOL analysis showed that transparent wood reduced the ecological impact by an order of to compared to polyethylene, paving the way for its commercial adaptation to replace the petroleum-based material.
The research findings were published in the journal Science of The Total Environment.
Summary
Transparent wood, a sustainable material, has the potential to replace conventional petroleum-based polymers due to its renewable and biodegradable properties. It has recently been used for construction, energy storage, flexible electronics and packaging applications. Life cycle analysis (LCA) of transparent wood would provide environmental impacts during its production and end of life (EOL).
Cradle-to-gate analysis of clear wood suggests that sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfite, hydrogen peroxide-based delignification (NaOH + NaSO + HO method), and epoxy infiltration lead to the most environmental impacts. low. It generates about % less global warming potential and about % less land acidification than sodium chlorite delignification and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) infiltration.
The modeled industrial scale production has lower electricity consumption (by %) and environmental impacts than laboratory scale (% lower global warming potential and approximately % lower human toxicity). EOL analysis of transparent wood showed reduced ecological impacts ( times) compared to polyethylene, suggesting that it can be commercially adapted to replace conventional petroleum-based
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, million tonnes of plastic are generated annually, the majority of which comes from single-use plastic. While countries are making progress in reducing this waste through paper bags and straws, there are also applications where the properties of plastic are necessary.
Clear wood is an alternative for such applications and is highly preferred as it prevents damage from petroleum - based plastic products. Transparent wood was first made by German scientist Siegfried Fink in , and over the past three decades other researchers have also significantly improved it.
How is transparent wood made?
In its natural form, wood is opaque. However, researchers have discovered that removing lignin, a natural biopolymer that provides structural support to plant tissue, can make it transparent. To make it, the wood is soa Brazil Mobile Number List ked in a warm solution consisting of multiple chemicals, such as sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfite, and sodium hypochlorite, and then boiled in a hydrogen peroxide solution.
This removes the lignin completely and turns the wood white. However, the space occupied by lignin must be filled to preserve structural integrity. This process, called infiltration, is done by using a resin such as epoxy or polymethyl methacrylate or PMMA at temperatures of Fahrenheit ( o C).
The final product can have up to % transparency, unlike glass, it is shatterproof. More importantly, it is more biodegradable than glass or plastic.
Transparent wood life cycle assessment
While transparent wood is not yet commercial, it has been implemented in a wide variety of applications ranging from construction to energy storage , making electronics and flexible packaging.
IIT researchers conducted a life cycle analysis (LCA) of transparent wood to determine the environmental impact of its production cycle and end-of-life (EOL). The study found that using hydrogen peroxide for delignification, followed by using epoxy for infiltration, was the most environmentally friendly.
The approach has " percent less global warming potential" and " percent less land acidification" compared to another method that used sodium chlorite for delignification and PMMA for infiltration, the researchers wrote in a article. When scaled up for industrial production, the first method would reduce electricity consumption by up to percent.
The EOL analysis showed that transparent wood reduced the ecological impact by an order of to compared to polyethylene, paving the way for its commercial adaptation to replace the petroleum-based material.
The research findings were published in the journal Science of The Total Environment.
Summary
Transparent wood, a sustainable material, has the potential to replace conventional petroleum-based polymers due to its renewable and biodegradable properties. It has recently been used for construction, energy storage, flexible electronics and packaging applications. Life cycle analysis (LCA) of transparent wood would provide environmental impacts during its production and end of life (EOL).
Cradle-to-gate analysis of clear wood suggests that sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfite, hydrogen peroxide-based delignification (NaOH + NaSO + HO method), and epoxy infiltration lead to the most environmental impacts. low. It generates about % less global warming potential and about % less land acidification than sodium chlorite delignification and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) infiltration.
The modeled industrial scale production has lower electricity consumption (by %) and environmental impacts than laboratory scale (% lower global warming potential and approximately % lower human toxicity). EOL analysis of transparent wood showed reduced ecological impacts ( times) compared to polyethylene, suggesting that it can be commercially adapted to replace conventional petroleum-based