SusBind

The overall objective of the SUSBIND project is to produce and test, in an industrially relevant environment (TRL5), bio-based binders in the production of wood-based panel board as alternative to those using formaldehyde. The specific objectives are to:

• Identify and select the most sustainable feedstock from Europe’s starch- and vegetable oil-based bio-refineries as raw material for the producing thermoset resins as bio-based binders for making particle boards and medium density fibre boards;
• Develop, scale up and validate, to TRL5, chemical routes for synthesising carbohydrate-based amino-plastic and other wood adhesive systems using in-situ polymerisation of urea and other monomers and use the chemicals as bio-based binders for wood board production;
• Develop, scale up and validate, to TRL5, a new enzymatic technology for selective epoxidation of unsaturated plant fatty acids and oils with peroxygenases; Test these products as ingredients for binders and mainly as cross-linker for the carbohydrate based amino-plastic resins and as reactive alternative of wax emulsion normally used in wood board production.
• Validate these novel bio-based binders in industrially relevant environments, at TRL5 - particularly for particle board and medium density fibre board - for comparable or superior mechanical properties and lower emissions profiles than the current state-of-the-art;
• Ensure that the produced bio-based resin developed has a smaller carbon footprint and a lower human health impact and that the new binder meets all relevant market, standardisation and regulatory requirements;
• Develop and implement a dissemination, exploitation and communication plan to enhance innovation capacity and integrate the new insights, both form the project partners and the wood-based board sector as a whole.

The overall impact of SUSBIND will be to benefit public health and help mitigate climate change by providing cost-efficient bio-based binders. It also aims to provide a boost to Europe’s furniture industry with a competitive green advantage. Specifically, it expects to:

• Reduce the carbon footprint by 25 percent compared to current state-of-the-art;
• Keep the cost of production increase of using the new binders to an acceptable level, ideally less than 15 percent;
• Reduce formaldehyde emissions from particle and MDF board manufacture by 50 – 75 percent;
• Establish two new cross-sector cooperations, supplying the new resins to both particle board and medium density fibreboard manufacturers, replacing current supply from chemical manufacturers to ingredients company;
• Establish two new bio-based value chains; one from the source carbohydrates to wood based panel boards, the other from the source vegetable oils to wood based panel boards.

SUSBIND sustainable biobinders for wood panels

SUSBIND short factual video

Sustainable bio-based binders for furniture
16 July 2019
BBI JU SUSBIND project’s highly sustainable bio-based binders will replace conventional fossil-based binders currently used for wood-based panel boards in furniture mass products. By substituting fossil-based chemicals with those from renewable resources, carbon footprint of furniture products will be reduced. Read more