“I’ve previously spoken about the nanotechnology angle to paper; back in podcast #70 I mentioned how the use of silica nanoparticles not only makes paper smoother and stronger, but also reduces the amount of raw materials needed to make paper. The use of less pulp not only means you need fewer trees, but less water as well. That’s about as environmentally friendly as you can get.”

“Wood pulp is widely available, and there is the potential to produce nanofibers in very large quantities,” says Lars Berglund, a biocomposites researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology, in Stockholm, Sweden, and coauthor of a paper in Biomacromolecules that describes the new material.”

“VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Helsinki University of Technology TKK and UPM have today established an internationally unique Finnish Centre for Nanocellulosic Technologies. It aims to create new applications for cellulose as a raw material, substance and end product. Cellulose-based nanofibres can be used to alter the structure of the material and create products that better correspond to future market needs.”