Well, according to a recent article in New Scientist, a substance from wood pulp, in the form of nanocrystalline-cellulose can be used to make superstrong, lightweight and fairly cheap products.
It is obvious that surfboards could be the first products to benefit from this revolutionary material.
Strong, cheap, transparent, non-toxic, made from waste products .... its too good to be true.
Production of NCC starts with "purified" wood, which has had compounds such as lignin and hemicellulose removed. It is then milled into a pulp and hydrolysed in acid to remove impurities before being separated and concentrated as crystals into a thick paste that can be applied to surfaces as a laminate or processed into strands, forming nanofibrils. These are hard, dense and tough, and can be forced into different shapes and sizes. When freeze-dried, the material is lightweight, absorbent and good at insulating.
This is good news…sawdust has been added to glue and resin as a bulker for many years ,on boats and furniture…promotes a good bond due to the natural “cross-linking” of fibres…this goes a step further by the sounds , like a natural alternative to q-cell or micro-ballons and microfibres.
Funny to see a 5-year-old thread that went nowhere revived.
I don’t know about “nano-crystalline cellulose”, but there is BioMid fiber, which is produced from wood cellulose, handles and wets out like fiberglass, and has similar physical properties. (For those who are inclined in such a direction, of course.)
for the first time I hear about such material for boards. I would have studied this issue more deeply in order to have a wider idea of the hand-made production of boards
Interesting that thread come back, as i buy some cotton flock (= cellulose pulp) for strong mastic (plugs, repairs…) I see plain waves cloth make with same, cellulose fiber, i would try. I yet use nowoven cellulose fiber veil (=paper sheet) under wood…
3 cheers for trees…they’ve always been one of natures best renewable resources…we just seem to harvest them for some bad reasons , and waist a lot of the resource in the process .
Forget the wood pulp, recycle the filler in disposable diapers (applies to adult diapers also) for anchoring fins, plugs, etc. That goes back almost to when the original post was made here, but it was about using new diapers then.
One of the best products ever made from pulp is a product known as “Smart Siding” by Boise- Cascade. 4x8 sheets with a wood texture top side and OSB(Oriented Strand Board) on the back side. Has “sheer strength” so can be used without additional Plywood beneath. Reasonable price of about $35 per sheet. Excellent for backyard shops. Of course MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) has come a long way and is a much better product than it was even a few short years ago. Just don’t let water get anywhere near it. Smart Siding will stand up to the elements, especially if primed and painted. I prime the backside and nothing can touch it. Done that way it can last a lifetime. Lowel