More sustainable coatings: discover SuperBark, BIORING sister project
Can natural components in softwood bark be the base for safe, sustainable and high-performance adhesives and coatings?
This is what the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) project SuperBark explores, aiming at developing new bio-based adhesives and coatings for a range of industrial applications, with improved sustainability, health and safety profiles compared to fossil-based solutions.
Adhesives and coatings are an integral part of everyday products
Most adhesives and coatings currently on the market are produced using fossil-based and harmful chemicals, thus conflicting with the EU goal of protecting the health and well-being of citizens and the environment.
SuperBark steps in to develop bio-based products from industrial softwood bark (pine and spruce), a major side stream from the forest industry. SuperBark adhesives and coatings will be applied in industries such as furniture, construction, transport, and packaging, eliminating formaldehyde-based resins and other harmful fossil-based substances currently used and improving the recyclability and sustainability of the new products.
SuperBark objectives
The project main objectives are:
- Produce bio-based components for adhesives and coatings from industrial softwood bark.
- Develop adhesives with more than 95% bio-based content from bark for plywood, particleboard and medium-density fibreboard.
- Develop coatings with more than 95% bio-based content from bark-based cellulose for plywood and packaging paper.
- Apply a Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) framework to guide the development of new products.
- Develop digital tools to support the scale-up and market integration of the adhesives and coatings.
- Increase awareness of these new technologies, products, and associated opportunities.
To learn more about SuperBark, contact the Project Coordinator Marc Borrega from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd at marc.borrega@vtt.fi.
The project is supported by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking and its members. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CBE JU. Neither the European Union nor the CBE JU can be held responsible for them.
