Plastic is hugely damaging to the environment, and replacing it with entirely new bio-based materials could be one solution. In the future, fibre-based foam could be used in everything from packaging and furniture to cars and houses.
When plastic became popular in the 1950s and 60s, it quickly became a material that was both versatile and durable.
But today, plastics are recognised as one of the biggest environmental culprits. Waste enters and remains in the environment, causing pollution that harms wildlife and ecosystems - while the production of plastics causes high levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
Producing fibre-based packaging with Apple
Every year, the world produces 430 million pieces of plastic, a number that is expected to triple by 2060 if nothing changes, according to the UNDP. At the same time, plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions will increase.
Finding materials that can replace different types of plastic is therefore of paramount importance.
Apple, one of the world's largest companies, is working to make all of its packaging plastic-free. The tech giant has enlisted the help of RISE to develop a fibre-based material that can replace plastic.
"Together with Apple, we have developed a fibre-based foam. It will replace their packaging material, for example when you buy a screen and it is embedded in a foam material," says Bettina Mueller, programme manager for cellulose and fibre-based foams at RISE.
"A lot of this is confidential, but I can say that we have made great progress and I am very optimistic that this material will actually be used – and that we will be able to find even more applications for it."
Same process as traditional papermaking
The production of such fibre-based materials is essentially based on the methods developed for traditional papermaking.
"That is the starting point. The basic steps are then to add air and create a foam, which gives a three-dimensional structure rather than a flat paper material. Then you remove the water by dewatering and drying," says Claes Holmqvist, senior researcher in manufacturing processes for fibre-based materials at RISE.
The material could then be adapted for a wide range of applications.
"Once you find out how to make such a material, you can modify it and use it as insulation, upholstery in furniture, soundproofing in cars or filtration, for example," says Bettina Müller.
In principle, wherever low-density plastics are used today, different types of fibre-based foams could be used instead.
Of course, the idea is not that these new fibre-based materials will end up in nature. But if they do, they will not cause the same damage as plastic.
It works like paper, and paper is biodegradabl
Can be recycled like paper
"It works like paper, and paper is biodegradable. But the idea is that it should be recycled, just like paper, which also means that you don't have to use as much raw material when you make it," says Claes Holmqvist.
The raw material in this case is forest. The question is whether there will be enough forest if, in addition to all its other uses, it is to help replace plastic - will it be sustainable?
"We need to think intelligently about how we use these resources, where do they do the most good? But bio-based materials are definitely part of the solution to some of the problems we face. The cool thing about bio-based materials is that if you use a tree or something from agriculture, something new can grow in the same place," says Claes Holmqvist.
The transition from plastic to fibre-based materials is still in the early stages. More research and development is needed – and there are regulatory barriers, for example if the material is to be used as a building material.
Pilot biorefinery in Örnsköldsvik
Above all, however, the aim is to reduce production costs.
"But when some plastic materials were new 40 years ago, they were not very cheap either. "It is not realistic to expect a new material to be completely equivalent and as cheap. You have to start weighing up the environmental impact against the fact that it may cost a little more," says Bettina Mueller.
RISE has a head start thanks to its unique understanding of the raw material - it has a long history of developing and creating new materials from wood. In the autumn of 2024, RISE will also open a new pilot biorefinery in Örnsköldsvik.
"We have the technical knowledge, but there are other things to consider when developing new materials. We mentioned sustainability and regulatory issues. We can easily bring in experts in these areas because RISE is interdisciplinary. This means that we can support the whole chain and gain a system perspective," says Claes Holmqvist.
