When trying to assess the air quality of a building, there are various warning signs that you may look out for. Is there a busy road nearby? A flight path overhead? Has anybody checked for water damage or mould?
All valid and important factors, but there is one factor that goes right under most people’s noses. Furniture. Or, more specifically, wood paneling.
Particle board is a material that is present in almost all homes in Europe and North America. If you’ve spent a Sunday afternoon putting together flat-pack furniture, then it is likely present in yours too. Historically, the wooden components of these kits use an adhesive that has a crude oil origin. Moreover, traditional binders often contain formaldehyde, a chemical that has recently come under scrutiny. It has limitations placed by the WHO, who recommend 0.1 /m3 for all thirty-minute periods at lifelong exposure. More important, it was recently reclassified from “potentially carcinogenic” to “confirmed carcinogenic”.
Renewable, effective and abundant
So, what alternative can be found? Fortunately, there is an abundant and natural solution that avoids the need for oil-based sources. And it comes from a simple source—plants and trees. Any tree in fact. Lignin is a complex plant-based polymer that acts as a natural binder. Trees consist of about 30% lignin, which binds the (cellulose) fibers together and prevents the wood from bacterial decomposition (rotting).
Lignin has been developed as a binder for many years—it was a concept that was first considered back in the 1960s. But it’s only recently that Stora Enso has achieved groundbreaking progress by developing an effective way to extract, refine and crosslink it.
NeoLigno® from Stora Enso is an industry-ready binder that has been launched for particle board and mineral wool. It is made from natural biomaterials and meets all the core requirements of a binder. “What is so great about NeoLigno® is that it replaces a toxic, fossil-based material with a natural adhesive,” says Sara Fäldt, Senior Specialist at Stora Enso.
Unlike many other competing biopolymers, such as starch and protein, lignin is not food-competing. Lignin is a side-stream product of the pulping process.
NeoLigno® has already been launched for use in particleboard and insulation, and there are also developments underway to expand its application to plywood, MDF and furniture. “We believe that NeoLigno’s potential is almost limitless. The demand is already there and it will only grow in the future,” continues Fäldt. “We are in collaboration with several customers and partners who are forerunners in providing healthier, more environmentally-friendly building materials.”
