Pulp Paper & Logistics


STORA ENSO


3 The solution to the world’s climate-change needs: trees can be used for much more than just paper and packaging


its raw material bulk and burning much of the rest. There are still pieces of the puzzle to find before wood can become a full-fledged fossil-material challenger, but enough are in place to know that the puzzle is solvable.


electricity for pulp operations. However, all three parts of the


tree can be valorised to make new products through mechanical or chemical processes. You can further process the cellulose part into many different applications already used today – in textiles, pharmaceuticals, food and cosmetics.


This isn’t science fiction – it’s


already been proven. Lignin has already been turned into carbon fibre, and nanocellulose is already being used to create stronger and lighter packaging. Yet a widespread roll-out is still to come. So, on the one hand, we


are using a fraction of wood’s potential as a material. On the other, we are using a fraction of


The practice What about right now though? What are the uses for wood products that might surprise you? There’s building for a start. And I don’t mean log cabins or timber as a supplementary or cladding material. I mean high- rise buildings and skyscrapers that have traditionally required the strength of steel frames and concrete. These are end-uses previously dominated by concrete and steel. Architects are beginning to be more ambitious with wood as a building material using, for instance, cross- laminated timber (CLT) and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) solutions. Recent examples are the multi-storey CLT office block in Sydney and, in Paris, wooden apartment buildings by the Seine. By reducing use of carbon-intensive steel and concrete, countries can move the forest into the cities and, as a result, mitigate climate change. But it’s not just buildings. Lignin is already used as a replacement for oil-based phenolic materials in adhesives. Fluff pulp is used as a sustainable raw material by the hygiene industry


ANDRITZ 11


for absorbent products such as tampons, protective pads, diapers and airlaid paper. Even clothing is being made


from wood. Dissolving pulp is used to produce viscose fibres for the textile industry and has a low environmental impact compared to other sources: lower water requirements compared to cotton production, a sustainable advantage over oil-based polyester and lower land requirements than wool production.


The future What’s next for wood-derived materials? The sky’s the limit. No, seriously. The carbon fibres


that can be produced from tree products are suitable for the bodywork for aeroplanes. Also cars, wind turbines, boats – whatever calls for strong and light materials. Biomaterials from wood also


promise to create alternatives to plastics products and packaging that could 4


Biomaterials from wood promise to create alternatives to plastics products and packaging, says Karl-Henrik Sundstrom, chief executive of Stora Enso


July/August 2017


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