Desirable properties of wood
in the 21st Century
Ken Skog, Ted Wegner, Peter Ince,
USDA Forest Service
Forest Products Laboratory
Madison, Wisconsin
Charles Michler
USDA Forest Service
Northern Research Station
West Lafayette, Indiana
MeMoWood Conference
IUFRO 5.01-04
Nancy, France
October 1-4, 2013
Topics
Background
US Forest Products Laboratory
Selected findings at the beginning
Vision 2050: Forestry and forest products in a sustainable world
Desirable wood properties
– Current wood products and uses
– Biofuels, energy, chemicals – Thermochemical conversion
– Biofuels, chemicals – Biochemical conversion
– Cellulose nano materials
– Carbon sequestration / emission offsets
Role of biotechnology
Thoughts on a path forward
Co-Authors
Ted Wegner
Assistant Director
Chemical Engineer
Peter Ince
Forest Economist
(retired)
Charles Michler
Forest Geneticist
Forest biorefinery
Nanocellulose
technologies
Market projections
Technology change
Hardwood genomics
Tree improvement
Background / goals
Part of U.S. assessment of forest productivity research
– What research could yield high return on investment?
Identify wood properties needed in high productivity forests
– Describe drivers of wood product needs
• Current commercial products/ new & emerging products
– Indicate desirable properties
– Suggest general strategies for attaining properties
• Enhanced “generalist” trees
• “specialist” or “purpose grown” trees
Selected Findings
Current wood uses projected to remain dominant
– many enhanced properties will be important.
Emerging issues will shape wood use
– Renewable energy – thermal, electric, liquid fuels
– Chemical feedstock production
– Cellulose nano materials
– Carbon sequestration/ emission offset
Biotechnology can tailor wood properties of plantation trees
Gap – Science and technology needed to provide wood
properties to
– produce uniform wood at high growth rates & short rotations
– meet specific end-use performance needs
World Business Council for
Sust ainable D evelopment
Vision
2050
The new agenda for business
A collaborative effort involving 29
companies
Business-as-usual Outlook to 2050
• “Humanity has largely had an explosive
relationship with our planet; we can, and
should, aim to make this a symbiotic
one.”
• Michael Mack, Syngenta International AG
Growth: The world population is
increasingly urban
Global population by type of area and by region – 1950-2050
10,000
9,000
Population in millions
8,000
7,000
6,000
Urban - Less developed
5,000
Rural - Less developed
Urban - More developed
4,000
Rural - More developed
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
Source: UN Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision, 2008
Growth: The global middle class is
rapidly expanding
Population in low- and middle-income countries earning
US$ 4,000-17,000 per capita (purchasing power parity)
1.2 billion
16
Percent of global population
14
12
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
10
Middle East and North Africa
8
6
Latin America and the Caribbean
Europe and Central Asia
400 million
East Asia and the
4
2
0
2005
2030
Source: World Bank, Global Economic Prospects, 2007
Degradation: Greenhouse gas emissions
keep rising
GHG emissions by regions
80
70
GtCO 2eq
60
50
Rest of the world
40
BRIC (Brazil,
Russia,India, China)
OECD
30
20
10
0
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
Source: OECD, Environmental Outlook to 2030, 2008
Degradation: The world could be running
out of some resources
Global supply forecasts according to the implied ultimate recoverable
resources of conventional oil, date of peak production and the post-peak
aggregate decline rate
Forecast post-peak decline rate
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
USEIA
Shell
Peak Oil Consulting
OPEC
LBST
Miller
IEA
Meling
Campbell
BGR
2%
Uppsala
1%
Total
0%
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2030
2035
2040
2045
Forecast date of peak
Source: UKERC, The Global Oil Depletion Report, 2009
2050
Forests
Vision for 2050
Recovery and
regeneration
Turbulent teens
Carbon incentives
drive progress
Consumption of industrial roundwood by region – 1965-2030
900
800
700
North America
600
millions m 3
Transformation time
Growing momentum
for forest protection
and efficient
production
Increasing consumption of industrial
roundwood
Europe
500
Asia and
400
Latin America
300
Africa
200
Western and
Central Asia
100
0
1965
1990
2005
Source: FAO, State of the World’s Forests 2009, 2009
2020
2030
Energy and power
Vision for 2050
Secure and sufficient
supply of low-carbon
Turbulent teens
Tilting and leveling the
playing field for
energy
A new energy mix to reduce CO2 emissions
World abatement of energy-related CO2 emissions in the 450 scenario
Transformation time
Greenhouse gas
emissions peak and
decline
Source: International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2009, © OECD/IEA 2009
Materials
Vision for 2050
Not a particle of
waste
Turbulent teens
Doing more with less
Eliminating waste by closing the material
loop
An alternative material life cycle
Transformation time
Closing the loop
Manufacturer
Long
use
Reuse of
products
Reuse of
parts
Closed loop
materials
recycling
Open loop
materials
recycling
User
Landfill
Source: WBCSD
pathway to Vision 2050
To aThe
sustainable
world in 2050
TODAY
From business-as-usual
IPCC 5th Assessment Report
WGI Summary for Policy Makers
“Limiting climate change will require
substantial and sustained reductions of
greenhouse gas emissions.”
“By the mid-21st century the magnitudes of
the projected changes are substantially
affected by the choice of emissions scenario.”
-- IPCC 5th Assessment Report WGI SPM 27 Sept 2013
The IPCC endorses a carbon budget
Quote from NYTimes article by J. Gillis (27 Sept 2013)
“To stand the best chance of keeping the planetary warming
below an internationally agreed target of 3.6 degrees
Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above the level of
preindustrial times, the panel found, no more than one trillion
metric tons of carbon can be …released into the
atmosphere.
Just over half that amount has … been emitted since the
beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and at the rate energy
consumption is growing, the trillionth ton will be released …
around 2040, according to …Myles R. Allen, a scientist at
the University of Oxford and one of the authors of the new
report. More than three trillion tons of carbon are still left in
the ground as fossil fuels.”
Vision 2050 – Vision for forestry
and forest products
Forestry
– No harvest from primary forests (old growth)
– 3X increase in yield and harvest from plantations
– Limited additional harvest from modified natural forest
– 50% increase in roundwood harvest
GHG Mitigation
– Carbon incentives to stop deforestation, 10% more
forest C over 2010
– Increase long term C storage in buildings - Wood use
beyond traditional regions and styles
– Increase wood use for liquid fuel, power, heat
Materials production
– Focus on long lived closed loop renewables; no waste
– Dematerialization – less wood fiber per unit product
Forest products, technologies, and wood
needed to meet Vision 2050 Goals
Enhanced conventional wood products
– Wood for sawnwood, panels, furniture parts, paper
Biofuels/ power / heat/ chemicals
– Wood for thermochemical conversion
Biofuels/ chemicals
– Wood for biochemical conversion
Cellulose nano materials; fibrils, crystals; nano ~ 100 nm)
– Wood for stronger/ dematerialized structural and paper
products
Carbon sequestration/ carbon offsets
– C in forests
– Wood for long term C storage in products
– Wood for structure to substitute for steel, concrete
Key property needs 1
Wood for current structural/
appearance solidwood products
– Higher growth (lower cost)
– Lower microfibril angle
– Higher density
– Less juvenile wood
– Improved stem form
– More desirable wood color
– More uniformity across trees
Wood for paper, paperboard
– Higher cellulose / lower lignin
– Higher syringyl to guaiacyl lignin ratio
– Longer more flexible tracheids
Key property needs 2
Biofuels/ power/ heat –
Thermochemical conversion
– Higher growth (lower cost)
– Higher energy density
– Low ash content
Key property needs 3
Biofuels/ Chemicals/
Pharmaceuticals– Biochemical
conversion
– Higher growth (lower cost)
– Higher specific gravity
– Higher cellulose (6 C sugars)
– Higher 6 C sugars in
hemicellulose
– Lower recalcitrant (crystalline)
cellulose
– Higher syringyl to guaiacyl
lignin
• (Conifers = G,
nonconifers = G & S)
Source: USDOE NREL
Key property needs 4
Cellulose Nano materials – fibrils, crystals
– Long strong fibrils
• Cellulose crystals with high length to diameter ratio
(currently 40-60)
– Reactive sites to attach chemicals
Source: Moon et al 2011
Key property needs 5
Carbon sequestration/ emission offsets
– Forest C sequestration
• Resistance to disturbances (fire,
insects, disease)
– Solidwood products
• Long term C storage in products
– Durability to extend use life
• Substitute for steel/ concrete
– Increased strength to weight
– Pulp/paper –
• lower C emissions in manufacturing
– Lower lignin; higher syringyl to
guaiacyl ratio
The Stadthaus,
Hoxton, London
(Cross laminated timber)
“Timeline” for Property needs
Needed now for current products/ combustion/ greenhouse gas
mitigation
– Sawnwood/ plywood/ composite panels: Higher specific
gravity, Improved stem form, Lower microfibril angle, Less
juvenile wood, Longer more flexible tracheids, More desirable
wood color, Durability (strength/ decay)
– Pulp: Higher cellulose, lower/modified lignin, lower moisture
– Combustion: Lower ash content, high lignin, lower moisture
Additional needs for products nearing commercialization (biofuels,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals)
– Lower recalcitrant (crystalline) cellulose
– Higher 6 Carbon sugars in hemicellulose
Additional needs long term for cellulose nano materials
– Higher crystalline cellulose, higher crystal length to diameter,
high number of reactive sites (to attach chemicals)
Vision for Cellulose Nanomaterials 1
Overall vision for materials in 2050
– Renewable feedstocks, low C emissions, no waste
– Dematerialize - dramatically lighter with designed high
performance
– Decouple density, stiffness, strength
Cellulose nanomaterials – an enabling technology
Features of cellulose nano materials
– Renewable, biodegradable, low C emissions in transport/
production
– high strength/ stiffness to weight
– Transparent to opaque
– Piezioelectric properties (mechanical stress = voltage)
Vision for Cellulose Nanomaterials 2
Dematerialize, dramatically lighter, high strength/ stiffness
Cellulose nano materials - extremely high strength to weight
Metals
Stiffness
Cellulose crystals
high stiffness and high strength
(per unit density)
Solidwood
Strength
Vision for Cellulose nano materials 3
Products
High volume (10’s of millions of tonnes)
– Automobile parts (exterior and interior panels, 300+ kg saved)
– Concrete (3% fibrils by wt increases fracture energy 50%)
– Packaging and paper, e.g. fillers and coatings (replace
plastics, decrease pulp use, inorganic coatings)
– Clothing (light, durable)
Low volume (examples)
– Aerospace (structures, interior parts)
– Filtration
– Construction specialty products
– Sensors (biohazards, chemical hazards)
Novel (example)
– Flexible TV screens
Source: (Shatkin, Wegner., Bilek, Cowie, Forthcoming)
Vision for Cellulose nano materials 4
Desired properties
Long strong nano fibrils
– Higher crystalline cellulose versus amorphous cellulose
– Higher crystal length to diameter
High number of reactive sites (on fibrils / crystals)
– To bond to matrix material in composite
– To link chemicals – sensors, inhibitors, pharmaceuticals
Biotechnology as a tool for manipulating
desirable properties
Families of genes are known (e.g. populus) that influence
– Branch angle, stem thickness, lignin content, plant
competition, insect and disease resistance
Anticipated traits that could be manipulated
– Longer more flexible tracheids (strength in paper/composites)
– Modified of color sapwood (appearance lumber grades)
– Decrease in microfibril angle (strength in softwoods)
– Reduction in juvenile wood (strength in softwoods)
– Uniformity of fiber characteristics (pulping control)
– Reduction in property difference between early and late wood
(decrease color difference) (increase strength) (pulping
control)
Thoughts on the Path Forward
Two research tracks needed
Research to modify tree
and wood properties to
meet end use needs
Research to adapt
technologies to exiting
properties to meet end
use needs
Enhanced Generalist trees – needed now
Specialist trees – Need to know how to make them
- Monitor emerging markets
- Value = value increment in market
- Need to have markets before planting
Thank you
[email protected]
References
Moon, R.J., Martini, A., Nairn, J., Simonsen, J., Youngblood, J. 2011.
Cellulose nanomaterials review: structure, properties and
nanocomposites. Chem. Soc. Rev. 40:3941-3994.
Schaedler, T.A., Jacobsen, A.J., Carter, W.B. 2013. Toward lighter,
stiffer materials. Science 341(13 Sept):1181-1182.
Shatkin, J., Wegner, T., Bilek E.M.(Ted), Cowie, J. Forthcoming. Market
projections for cellulose nano-material enabled products – Part 1:
Applications.
Wegner, T., Skog, K.E., Ince, P.J., Michler, C.J. 2010. Uses and
desirable properties of wood in the 21st century. J. of Forestry. June.
165-173.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development. 2010. Vision
2050, The New agenda for business. Geneva. 71 p.
Contact : Ken Skog - kskog (at) fs.fed.us