Periodic Reporting for period 7 - SWOP (The first non-toxic bio-based polymer resin to revolutionize the wood panel industry)
Reporting period: 2022-11-01 to 2023-04-30
Objectives:
1. Finalize development and production scale-up of the Plantics bio-resins,
2. Finalize development and production scale-up of the -Plantics bio-resin wood panels
3. Test the product in a complex end-product setting – kitchen furniture
4. Conduct health assessment to evaluate the production safety and life-cycle of Plantics bio-resin wood panels
5. Fast initiation of commercialization of Plantics wood panels and perform related dissemination activities to potential customers and other stakeholders.
Plywood can now be produced at Koskisen thanks to developments made on the resin and the process. Several batches of plywood with both wet glue and impregnated paper have been produced at Koskisen. The mechanical properties of the panels are reaching the right specification. Plywood panels have been used in the kitchens. The last steps are being taken to get the product ready for market.
Two types of Plantics Wood panels have been used in kitchens: particle boards for the corpus, finished with a 2mm hemp composite, and unfinished plywood panels for the kitchen back walls. One of the major challenges encountered in kitchen production was achieving tolerance in thickness within a chipboard and between chipboards. To address this, panels were sorted by thickness, and new CNC production drawings were created based on the three most common thicknesses of panels.
A new formaldehyde measurement campaign was conducted to further investigate the results obtained in the previous measurement campaign. Additionally, the life-cycle analysis (LCA) of chipboards and plywood has been completed, resulting in the writing of the LCA report. Furthermore, the policy landscape analysis has been finalized, and the final report has been written.
Efforts were made to connect consortium partners with potential users, update the business plan, and establish commercialization agreements. Furthermore, novel spin-off opportunities developed within the project were leveraged.
Quarterly meetings and recurring teleconferences were organized. Regular reports were submitted to ensure continuous communication and progress tracking within the project.
• Safety - For occupational health (wood industry employees) and end-product users
• Sustainability – In production (oil independent, not infringing with food industry) and breakdown (recyclable). Investing in the technology will also pave the way for expansion of the technology into the floriculture-, packaging-, and insulation-markets in the future.