Weighing one fifth as much as steel but five times stronger, plant-based cellulose nanofiber (CNF) offers automakers the opportunity to build strong, lightweight wooden cars.
There's no need to turn up your nose, the cars are made of fibers obtained from wood, but they certainly won't resemble a piano. And there's more: cellulose nanofibers sustainably remove up to 2.000 kg of carbon from the car's life cycle.
Cellulose nanofibers, a material that surprises everyone
The properties of cellulose nanofiber are nothing short of extraordinary: a study from last year estimated that they have an average resistance even higher than that of spider silk.
It is essentially chopped wood and macerated in substances that remove lignin and hemicellulose.
It is a process perfected by a research team fromUniversity of Maryland, I told you about it recently in this post.
This iter (based on treatment with hydrogen peroxide) allows to obtain a highly condensed, light, incredibly resistant and above all absolutely recyclable material.
The plus? It can be printed
Cellulose nanofibers also have great potential in production. Its characteristics also allow them to be printed to create complex shapes.
The Japanese Ministry of the Environment Yoshiaki Harada (looking for redemption after the unhappy exits on Fukushima) promotes the use of these nanofibers as a sustainable way for manufacturers to reduce both the weight and environmental impact of their cars.
It could be a way to change the car building philosophy, and the future of autonomous vehicles will also benefit from this material.
