Tall-oil based hydrobhobing formulations for industrial fibreboards
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Linnéuniversitetet - Institutionen för skog och träteknik |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 4 000 000 |
| Project duration | May 2020 - May 2022 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | The strategic innovation programme Bioinnovation |
Important results from the project
The project demonstrated the production and use of hydrophobic emulsions based on tall oil distillation side streams in fibreboard manufacturing. Specifically, two types of emulsions from a tall oil fraction with remarkable hydrophobic effects on cellulosic paper sheets were selected for production upscaling and thereafter for manufacturing fibreboards at industrial relevant environment (both at TRL 6).The overall project results showed a high potential of tall oil derivatives in replacing as a whole or partially commercial paraffin wax in industrial fibreboard
Expected long term effects
The results of the project showed that a new value chain can be created involving tall oil distillation side streams, emulsification production technologies, and industrial wood panel making. All actors along the value chain evaluated from their perspectives issues of supply and transport of raw materials, production and application of emulsions, and market and sustainability benefits. No major obstacles have been identified, thus only technological issues need to be further optimised before the solutions can be demonstrated at the industrial level
Approach and implementation
The project performed research on optimising both the preparation and application of hydrophobic emulsions based on tall oil for producing industrial fibreboards through: lab-scale synthesis of hydrophobic tall oil-based formulations; manufacturing of medium-density fibreboards (MDF) and high-density fibreboards (HDF) with tall oil-based emulsions: pilot and demo actions by evaluating different dosage levels and addition points of the emulsions in the production line, and mixing possibilities with commercial wax; market and environmental sustainability