Researchers at Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) have developed a way to make biodegradable cellulose fibres that are stronger than steel or aluminium when weight is taken into account.
The technique draws on the cellulose fibres that make up a tree. Each single fibre is composed of as many as 40 million smaller fibres, or “fibrils”. While these fibrils have been separated from each other before, the KTH researchers and their collaborators in Germany succeeded in doing what no one else has. Fredrik Lundell, one of the researchers, says the team bound these fibrils together into filaments as strong as the original fibre in the tree. The filaments offer a wide range of uses, from manufacturing to clothing.
The research offers potential for creating natural clothing textiles based on wood instead of cotton, or even replacing fiberglass in cars, trucks and boats.
Image credit: Product Design & Development Net
