However, most adhesives and coatings currently on the market are produced using fossil-based and harmful chemicals, which conflicts with the EU-level goal of protecting the health and well-being of citizens and the environment.
About the project
SuperBark explores components in softwood bark to develop new bio-based adhesives and coatings for a range of industrial applications. The four-year project (September 2023-August 2027) will improve the sustainability, health and safety profiles of adhesive and coating products compared to fossil-based solutions.
Adhesives and coatings are an integral part of everyday consumer products
As a solution, Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) has funded SuperBark – a research and innovation project set to redefine the sustainability and safety of wood-based products.
SuperBark aims to develop safe, sustainable, and high-performance adhesives and coatings from industrial softwood bark – pine and spruce – that are major side streams from the forest industry. These will be applied in industries such as furniture, construction, transport, and packaging, thus eliminating formaldehyde-based resins and other harmful fossil-based substances used in conventional adhesives and coatings in everyday consumer products.
Objectives
1
Produce bio-based components for adhesives and coatings from industrial softwood bark, using novel alkaline extraction and membrane-assisted separation technologies.
2
Develop adhesives with >95% bio-based content from polyphenols extracted from bark for plywood, particleboard and medium-density fibreboard.
3
Develop coatings with >95% bio-based content from bark-based cellulose nanofibrils and polyphenols for plywood and paper packaging.
4
Apply a Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design framework to support the design of safe and sustainable adhesives and coatings using bark components.
5
Develop digital tools including process design, data analytics and system dynamics modelling to support the scale-up and market integration of the adhesives and coatings.
6
Communicate, disseminate and exploit the outcomes of the project to relevant stakeholders in order to increase awareness of the new technologies, products, and associated opportunities.
Impact
SuperBark is expected to achieve measurable economic, environmental and public health impacts in several ways.
1. Increase bio-based content of wood products
SuperBark will develop, test and validate at least four adhesive and three coating formulations with bio-based content of above 95% to replace fossil-based solutions in the furniture, construction, transport and packaging sectors. Industrial replication of the bark processing technologies will increase availability of bark-based components, broadening the range of applications of the bio-based adhesives and coatings and further diversifying the bioproduct portfolio.
SuperBark will increase circularity by allowing bark residues that are typically combusted for energy generation to be used in bio-based adhesives and coatings. This has the potential to prevent the annual emission of 18 million tonnes of CO2 and enhance the recycling of 490 000 tonnes of engineered wood products in the EU.
2. Improve recyclability and sustainability of new products
3. Improve health and safety of consumers
Market entry of the SuperBark products will reduce demand for harmful and fossil-based chemicals and polymers. Replacement of 2 million tonnes of formaldehyde annually from adhesives and coatings with bark-based alternatives will improve public health by eliminating long-term consumer exposure to formaldehyde and per- and polyfluorinated compounds and reducing the incidence of occupational disease caused by workplace inhalation of harmful chemicals. Resulting health related financial savings are expected to up to 84 million € in the EU.