36 | Focus on Resins: NeoLigno
THE FUTURE OF FORMALDEHYDE
Tuomo Heikkinen, vice-president, head of biochemicals and lignin applications at Stora Enso, makes the case for formaldehyde-free materials for health and environmental reasons, and how that can be achieved through a bio-based binder in panel boards
I
f an interior designer told you that the piece really tying the room together
contained formaldehyde, you might think they were referring to an imitation Damien Hirst statement piece. In fact, formaldehyde – along with another toxic group of chemicals, isocyanates – is an almost ubiquitous component of all panel board- based furniture.
You might ask: so what? This is a longstanding industrial practice and, though formaldehyde and isocyanates are known to be toxic, there has yet to be a widespread public health scare linked to its use in panel board. This is no asbestos, after all. Nonetheless, I would like to advocate for change. Because today, better alternatives are available to panel board producers and
the users of their products, such as furniture manufacturers. Ones with less harmful potential impacts on both health and the environment. Just because a particular product or process has cemented itself as the status quo, does not mean it cannot or should not be improved upon. In this case, the change in question is the advent of bio-based, and fossil-fuel,
Above: NeoLigno is a new bio-based binder WBPI | December 2025/January 2026 |
www.wbpionline.com
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