How to replace plastic with fibers from nature

If we could replace as little as 10% of all plastic used around the world with fibres from forestry and agriculture, this would be equivalent to at least 25 million tonnes a year.

In the area of fibre moulding, RISE is working to develop solutions that can replace plastic. Fibre moulding is about how to create moulded products from cellulose-based fibres, such as wood fibres but also fibres from crops. A classic product in this context is the egg carton, a simple molded product that excellently solves the task of protecting eggs. The same quality cannot be used to package cheese, meat or electronics, for example.

Today, molded fiber products are considered an important component in reducing our use of plastic. Therefore, today the development is fast and the processes are developing and producing higher quality than ever before. Overall, it can be said that fiber moulding is either "wet" - the product is formed by sucking fibers from a suspension onto a formed tool and then dried during hot pressing or freely in a subsequent step; or "dry" - the product is formed from a loosely bound fiber network by hot pressing.

Central to the work with fibre moulding is improved process economy, increased quality and better performance. When it comes to process economy, high production speed and low energy requirements are high on the list. Quality is important to gain acceptance from the customer and depends on things like color, surface properties and mechanical strength. Performance is about achieving the protection requirements set by different products, and when it comes to replacing plastic in packaging, the barrier properties are high on the list.

With our uniquely high level of expertise in key areas such as fibre knowledge, cellulose chemistry and properties, paper production and converting, we are well placed to develop fibre moulding technology for the products of the future.

RISE offers opportunities to develop and test new concepts and can provide experimental equipment for fiber casting as well as evaluation of products with respect to: