SuperBark

SuperBark aims to develop and optimise: 

• production of bio-based components for adhesives and coatings from industrial softwood bark, using novel alkaline extraction and membrane-assisted separation technologies; 

• adhesives with >95% bio-based content from polyphenols extracted from bark for plywood, particleboard and medium-density fibreboard; 

• coatings with >95% bio-based content from bark-based cellulose nanofibres and polyphenols for plywood and paper packaging; 

• application of a Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design framework to support the design of safe and sustainable adhesives and coatings using bark components; 

• digital tools including process design, data analytics and system dynamics modelling to support the scale-up and market integration of the adhesives and coatings. 

The project will disseminate the outcomes to stakeholders to raise public awareness of the new technologies, products and opportunities and ensure exploitation of the results. 

SuperBark is expected to achieve measurable economic, environmental and public health impacts in several ways. 

• It will develop, test and validate at least four adhesive and three coating formulations with bio-based content of above 95% to replace fossil-based solutions in the furniture, construction, transport and packaging sectors. Industrial replication of the bark processing technologies will increase availability of bark-based components, broadening the range of applications of the bio-based adhesives and coatings and further diversifying the bioproduct portfolio. 

• It will increase circularity by allowing bark residues that are typically combusted for energy generation to be used in bio-based adhesives and coatings. This has the potential to prevent the annual emission of 18 million tonnes of CO2 and enhance the recycling of 490 000 tonnes of engineered wood products in the EU.  

• Market entry of the SuperBark products will reduce demand for harmful and fossil-based chemicals and polymers. Replacement of synthetic adhesives and coatings with bark-based alternatives will improve public health by eliminating long-term consumer exposure to formaldehyde and per- and polyfluorinated compounds and reducing the incidence of occupational disease caused by workplace inhalation of harmful chemicals. Resulting health-related financial savings are expected to be huge.