German Scientists Juergen Pfitzer and Helmut Naegele developed Arboform in the late 1990’s (with the help of Helmut Naegele, Norbert Eisenreich and Wilhelm Eckl and Emilia Inone-Kauffmann) at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT. .
They discovered that that lignin, a key ingredient in every piece of wood, when mixed the right way can be turned into a renewable plastic that is still biodegradable.
Lignin + resins + flax + other natural fibers = mass that can be processed like any other thermoplastic material.
“The cellulose industry separates wood into its three main components – lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose,” explains ICT team leader Emilia Regina Inone-Kauffmann. “The lignin is not needed in papermaking, however. Our colleagues at TECNARO mix lignin with fine natural fibers made of wood, hemp or flax and natural additives such as wax. From this, they produce plastic granulate that can be melted and injection-molded.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081202115326.htm
The bio-plastic (arboform) can be molded via injection machines. It is durable and can be cast is precise detail.
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