{"id":100472,"date":"2021-11-19T07:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T06:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=100472"},"modified":"2021-11-12T15:42:39","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T14:42:39","slug":"creating-solar-cells-and-glass-from-wood-or-a-billion-tons-of-biowaste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/creating-solar-cells-and-glass-from-wood-or-a-billion-tons-of-biowaste\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating solar cells and glass from wood \u2013 or a billion tons of biowaste"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

A digital, urbanised world consumes huge amounts of raw materials that could hardly be called environmentally friendly. One promising solution may be found in renewable raw materials, according to research published in Advanced Materials<\/em><\/a>. In their paper, the international research group has taken a close look at how lignocellulose \u2014 or plant biomass \u2014 can be used for optical applications, potentially replacing commonly used materials like sand and plastics.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nanocellulose-composite
Nanocellulose-composite films with various optical functionalities. Photo: Derya Atas\/Aalto University<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We wanted to map out as comprehensively as possible how lignocellulose could replace the unrenewable resources found in widely used technology, like smart devices or solar cells,\u2019 says Jaana Vapaavuori, assistant professor of functional materials at Aalto University, who carried out the analysis with colleagues at the University of Turku, RISE \u2013 Research Institute of Sweden, and University of British Columbia.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Lignocellulose, the term that encompasses cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, is found in nearly every plant on Earth. When scientists break it down into very small parts and put it back together, they can create totally new, usable materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their extensive review of the field, the researchers assessed the various manufacturing processes and characteristics needed for optical applications, for example, transparency, reflectiveness, UV-light filtering, as well as structural colours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Through combining properties of lignocellulose, we could create light-reactive surfaces for windows or materials that react to certain chemicals or steam. We could even make UV protectors that soak up radiation, acting like a sunblock on surfaces,\u2019 explains Vapaavuori.

\u2018We can actually add functionalities to lignocellulose and customise it more easily than glass. For instance, if we could replace the glass in solar cells with lignocellulose, we could improve light absorption and achieve better operating efficiency,\u2019 says Kati Miettunen, professor of materials engineering at the University of Turku.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"Professor
Professor Kati Miettunen, Assistant Professor Jaana Vapaavuori and doctoral student Yazan al Haj study nanocellulose films. Photo: Mikael Nyberg\/Aalto University<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Unused potential<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Because forest biomass is already in high demand and vast carbon sinks are crucial to the health of the planet, as a source of lignocellulose the researchers point to what\u2019s not being used: more than a billion tons of biomass waste created by industry and agriculture each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018There is massive untapped potential in the leftovers of lignocellulose from other industries,\u2019 Vapaavuori emphasises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, researchers are still studying bio-based materials and creating prototypes. At Aalto University, for example, scientists have developed light fibres and light-reactive fabrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vapaavuori says that the leap to scaling-up and commercialisation could be achieved in two ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Either we create new uses for bio-based waste through government regulations or research brings about such cool demos and breakthroughs that it drives demand for renewable alternatives for optical applications. We believe that we need both political direction and solid research.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A major obstacle in the development and commercialisation of lignocellulose-based innovations has been its manufacturing cost. Eyes were on nanocellulose already at the beginning of the 2000s but it\u2019s only now that the energy consumption and cost of production have dropped enough to make industrial use possible. Another ongoing challenge lies in a simple but fundamental ingredient of processing: water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Cellulose loves water. To use it in optical applications, we need to find a way make it stable in humid conditions,\u2019 says Vapaavuori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Optical
Optical films made from nanocellulose. Image: Derya Atas\/Aalto Universit<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Reference<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Advanced Materials<\/em>; Joice Jaqueline Kaschuk, Yazan Al Haj, Orlando J. Rojas, Kati Miettunen, Tiffany Abitbol, Jaana Vapaavuori; Plant-based Structures as an Opportunity to Engineer Optical Functions in next-generation Light Management<\/a><\/em>, DOI: 10.1002\/adma.202104473<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contacts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Assistant Professor Jaana Vapaavuori
Aalto University
+358 50 476 0223
jaana.vapaavuori@aalto.fi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Kati Miettunen
University of Turku
+358 40 544 8742
kati.miettunen@utu.fi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A digital, urbanised world consumes huge amounts of raw materials that could hardly be called environmentally friendly. One promising solution may be found in renewable raw materials, according to research published in Advanced Materials. In their paper, the international research group has taken a close look at how lignocellulose \u2014 or plant biomass \u2014 can be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Aalto University researchers map out how biomass from plants could replace unrenewable resources in optical applications","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[5838,5842,12690,11877],"supplier":[3096,11150,1843,4257],"class_list":["post-100472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioeconomy","tag-biomass","tag-lignocellulosics","tag-naturalfibres","supplier-aalto-university","supplier-research-institutes-of-sweden-rise","supplier-university-of-british-columbia","supplier-university-of-turku"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100472\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100472"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=100472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}