In short:
- One study found that clear wood could be a more sustainable alternative to glass or plastic, typically used for car windshields, packaging and biomedical devices.
- A systematic review, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, argues that this material is greener due to its renewable and biodegradable properties. Furthermore, it would be cost efficient, being five times more energy efficient than glass, resulting in a significant reduction in manufacturing costs.
- According to the United Nations Environment Program, the world currently produces around 400 million tons of plastic waste annually, with increasing levels of single-use plastics being used and then thrown away. Now clear wood is emerging as one of the most promising future substitutes for these materials.
The results of a study suggest that transparent wood can replace glass or plastic. And it can do it in many ways! In car windshields, in packaging and in biomedical devices. All thanks to its ecological properties. Magazine Science of the Total Environment published the study (I link it here), who also argues that clear wood is cheaper than glass because five times more energy efficient, with much less production costs.
The context
According to the United Nations Environmental Program400 million tonnes of plastic waste is produced each year worldwide, an amount that only increases due to the consistently high levels of single-use plastics. In this context, a "starting point" such as wood presents itself today as the ideal platform for the replacement material of the future.
"Plastic is used as a substitute for glass which is (naturally) brittle. Transparent wood, however, is an even better alternative from an ecological point of view," he says. Prodyut Dhar, study author and biochemical engineer.
Transparent wood: less ecological than glass (but cheaper), much more ecological than plastic
Developed in 1992 by the German scientist Siegfried Fink and then improved by other researchers (of which I speak to you here), transparent wood is obtained by removing the lignin content in the wood and replacing it with transparent epoxy infiltrations. End-of-life analysis suggests that clear wood is somewhat less environmentally friendly than glass, but is still much better than polyethylene production.
Transparent wood is developed using thin "slices" of normal wood, but is stronger and lighter. The ability to add multiple properties through the incorporation of specialized materials makes it a versatile biological substrate for many applications.
In recent times it has been used in construction, energy storage, flexible electronics and packaging applications. Given the growing concerns about the environmental impact of petroleum-based plastics, I believe that clear wood will play a role in maintaining environmental sustainability.
