The project is part of the veturi program of Mirka SHAPE, which specializes in wood surface treatment solutions. In addition to Mirka, the project involves several players in mechanical wood processing and the chemical industry, together investigating the possibilities of wood fibers and the waste generated in their processing to substitute fossil raw materials in the chemical industry and the manufacture of construction products. The results are expected to have a significant impact on the international competitiveness of the domestic industry and are an important part of the national project, which develops a national strategy for the sustainable use of wood-based waste streams.
Our part at the UH is to investigate the potential of fiber residues generated in the chemical further processing of wood dust in bioinnovation of insulation material applications. Currently, the share of bio-based insulation in the global market is only a few percent. The need for new RDI openings like this is huge, considering the significant share of the construction sector in the share of material uses and produced emissions, as well as energy used by societies. In addition to our group at the University of Helsinki, the universities involved in the project consortium include the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi, which also coordinates the project.
D2V team: Elina Kettunen, Juha Rikala, Tuula Jyske (PI at UH)
Project partners: MIRKA Shape ecosystem; Chunlin Xu (consortium PI), Patrik Eklund et al. (ÅAU); Oskar Karlström et al. (UTU); industrial partners
Funder: Business Finland
Project duration: 01/09/2023 → 31/8/2026