The decomposition time of oil-based plastic. 450 years
The proportion of plastic that ends up in landfilss in EU-countries. 31%
for decades. Wood fibre can be used even in applications where plastic was thought to be irreplaceable. Indeed, nowadays we can make almost anything from wood fibre, from tableware to packaging and clothing. Professor Rosenau believes that as the transition to clean energy progresses, the production of plastic will decline. As fossil fuels become scarce, or when their use must be restrict- ed due to climate change, their applications will change. “Fossil components shouldn’t be wasted in plastic pro- duction, because you can achieve the same properties by using entirely renewable raw materials,” says Rosenau. Despite their good qualities, plastic replacements have yet to surpass the popularity of plastic. Bioplastics account for less than one per cent of the raw material used in the entire plastic industry, which is equal to a little more than a million tonnes a year. There is a greater need for cooperation between academic research and the business sector. “As it stands, academic research is not adequately aware of the needs that the markets already have, and businesses are unaware of all the things that academic research has already made possible,” adds Rosenau. PROMISING DEVELOPMENT Anna Suurnäkki , VP of Research at Metsä Fibre, has spent her decades-long research and work career on adapting the properties of wood fibres. She began studying pulp applications back when she was working on her doctoral dissertation, and came to Metsä Fibre from her position of Principal Scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. According to Anna, the advances made so far are prom- ising – the perspective of the corporate world has broad- ened at the same time as research methods have under- gone remarkable development. Analytical methods have developed enormously. “We can now access the structure of fibres at an entirely new level, which has increased our in-depth understand-
ing of fibres, starting from their structural components. When we understand the properties of fibre, we can also appreciate the opportunities it offers,” says Suurnäkki. The properties and applications of wood fibre are there- fore increasingly well understood. “I don’t think that we should try to make fibre as much like plastic as possible. Wood fibre has its properties, and any applications which make use of the particular advan- tages of fibre – such as strength, flexibility and bonding capacity – are especially interesting,” Suurnäkki says. In addition to pulp production, Metsä Fibre has inno vated plenty of things from pulp in cooperation with its partners. Aqvacomp, for one, makes a biocomposite which combines plastic and biomass in the demo plant located next to Metsä Fibre’s Rauma mill. MI Demo, a joint venture of Itochu Corporation and Metsä Spring, part of Metsä Group, is also initiating the further development of a production technology for a pulp-based textile fibre on the premises of the Metsä Fibre’s Äänekoski bioproduct mill. COURAGE IS REQUIRED For now, plastic’s superior competitive advantage is its price. Whereas you may have to pay 30 euros for a gram of lab-manufactured nano cellulose, you can order vast amounts of plastic granulate from China for less than one euro a kilo. Many plastic product manufacturers have invested in their production lines for decades, and the transition to a new material is not always easy, let alone cheap. You should also be sure that consumers are willing to pay more for a more sustainably produced material. Suurnäkki reminds us that, even though all signs point towards the limitless future possibilities of wood fibre, we do need patience. New investments in the process industry take their time. “You need to be realistic and brave. A big production unit is always a major investment and requires thorough
Esa Torniainen Paptic’s co-founder and Chief Business Development Officer. The company is a startup that produces a wood- based material that replaces plastics in packaging. Paptic was founded in 2015.
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