The Green Gusher
How Wood-Based Innovations Are Revolutionizing Sustainability and Technology
Summer 2024
By John Casey
Pictured: Georgia Tech’s Bo Arduengo prepares for an experiment under the fume hood.
Since the dawn of human civilization, forest products have been integral to technological innovation. Throughout history, wood has played a pivotal role — from the discovery of fire and the invention of the first wheel to the paper on which civilization’s guiding documents were written. Today, forest products continue to offer solutions to humanity’s most pressing challenges, particularly in reducing CO2 emissions and promoting sustainability.
At the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI) at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, researchers are finding new ways to make existing technologies more efficient and more climate-friendly.
In spring of 2023, RBI launched its wood-based renewables research center, ReWOOD, which focuses on a burgeoning field of science called Xylochemistry.
Xylochemistry makes use of sustainable, plant-based raw materials to develop industrial products ranging from jet fuel to industrial solvents to generic pharmaceutical additives and more. Right now, most of the world production of such materials comes from non-renewable fossil resources or petroleum products. Moving to a renewable source such as forestry products will not only aid in reducing the dependence on fossil fuels but will also help with reducing the over - all carbon footprint. “We would like to develop the technology and infrastructure to replace the reliance that we have now on petrochemicals with a more renewable source of carbon, that specifically being the woody biomass that we have in the US Southeast,” said Bo Arduengo, professor of practice and co-director of ReWOOD at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“We have a climate here both in terms of water and sunlight and the growing season that just enables a beautiful, sustainable production of carbon, which is important to maintain a great deal of the chemical and energy infrastructure that we enjoy in modern society.” The abundance of carbon available in locally produced forest products presents an unparalleled opportunity. Scientific advances are enabling chemists to convert woody biomass into functional carbon via a heat process that ultimately results in petroleum. (It’s the same process that occurs in nature, but it takes much longer there.) According to Arduengo, this will allow wood-based carbon to replace petrochemical carbon in many products that we use every day.
WOOD AS A BATTERY COMPONENT?
In our digitally powered, plugged-in world today, batteries play an integral role. The most commonly used battery technology, lithium-ion batteries, can be found in countless products you use daily, including phones, laptops and even electric vehicles. According to Matthew McDowell, professor and researcher on new battery technologies at the Georgia Institute of Technology, wood-based materials like lignin and cellulose can be modified and made to be components of lithium-ion batteries that can operate in a similar way to existing components. “Lithium-ion batteries contain all sorts of different materials. Materials that store lithium ions, transport lithium ions,” said McDowell. Wood-based materials like cellulose and lignin can be engineered as important battery components that can either store more lithium ions for energy or transport lithium ions quickly.”
According to McDowell, one of the exciting things about wood-based materials for batteries is that they could not only be used in current generations of batteries, but they could enable new battery technologies. In particular, sodium-ion batteries, which could be cheaper than current generations of batteries, be more widespread, and use more sustainable resources.
At the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI) at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, researchers are finding new ways to make existing technologies more efficient and more climate-friendly.
In spring of 2023, RBI launched its wood-based renewables research center, ReWOOD, which focuses on a burgeoning field of science called Xylochemistry.
Xylochemistry makes use of sustainable, plant-based raw materials to develop industrial products ranging from jet fuel to industrial solvents to generic pharmaceutical additives and more. Right now, most of the world production of such materials comes from non-renewable fossil resources or petroleum products. Moving to a renewable source such as forestry products will not only aid in reducing the dependence on fossil fuels but will also help with reducing the over - all carbon footprint. “We would like to develop the technology and infrastructure to replace the reliance that we have now on petrochemicals with a more renewable source of carbon, that specifically being the woody biomass that we have in the US Southeast,” said Bo Arduengo, professor of practice and co-director of ReWOOD at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“We have a climate here both in terms of water and sunlight and the growing season that just enables a beautiful, sustainable production of carbon, which is important to maintain a great deal of the chemical and energy infrastructure that we enjoy in modern society.” The abundance of carbon available in locally produced forest products presents an unparalleled opportunity. Scientific advances are enabling chemists to convert woody biomass into functional carbon via a heat process that ultimately results in petroleum. (It’s the same process that occurs in nature, but it takes much longer there.) According to Arduengo, this will allow wood-based carbon to replace petrochemical carbon in many products that we use every day.
WOOD AS A BATTERY COMPONENT?
In our digitally powered, plugged-in world today, batteries play an integral role. The most commonly used battery technology, lithium-ion batteries, can be found in countless products you use daily, including phones, laptops and even electric vehicles. According to Matthew McDowell, professor and researcher on new battery technologies at the Georgia Institute of Technology, wood-based materials like lignin and cellulose can be modified and made to be components of lithium-ion batteries that can operate in a similar way to existing components. “Lithium-ion batteries contain all sorts of different materials. Materials that store lithium ions, transport lithium ions,” said McDowell. Wood-based materials like cellulose and lignin can be engineered as important battery components that can either store more lithium ions for energy or transport lithium ions quickly.”
According to McDowell, one of the exciting things about wood-based materials for batteries is that they could not only be used in current generations of batteries, but they could enable new battery technologies. In particular, sodium-ion batteries, which could be cheaper than current generations of batteries, be more widespread, and use more sustainable resources.
“Wood-derived batteries can potentially be made with more sustainable processing with lower cost and lower energy requirements, which could be more sustainable for manufacturing and beneficial for our society.” — Matthew McDowell, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
“Lithium-ion batteries are used in a variety of applications today. Sodium-ion batteries are quite similar, except they use sodium ions instead of lithium ions. A big advantage there is that sodium is much more abundant on Earth,” said McDowell. “Sodium is in our oceans, our table salt. It’s much cheaper. It can be advantageous to develop batteries based on sodium, and lignin in particular can be processed into carbon that is useful for sodium-ion batteries.”
A key difference between the use of sodium and lithium in batteries is that sodium-ion batteries cannot use the conventional battery material graphite, which is used in lithium-ion batteries to store lithium ions. Fortunately, wood provides a solution.
“We need other forms of carbon to be able to develop high-performance sodium-ion batteries, which is where lignin can come in,” said McDowell. “We can carbonize the lignin to create hard carbon with particular structure and properties, and we can develop high-performance sodium-ion battery materials.” The natural abundance of both sodium and wood could be revolutionary for battery technology, improving costs, energy requirements and overall environmental impact. “Battery manufacturing is expanding really rapidly across the world. Here in North America, and here in Georgia, there is massive investment in battery manufacturing and electric vehicle manufacturing.
One of the challenges is that many of the raw materials are not found or produced in the United States. It’s useful and really necessary to have access to these materials to make large quantities of these batteries,” said McDowell. “Lithium-ion batteries are great, but some of the materials used in lithium-ion batteries are either somewhat rare or use a lot of energy to make. Wood-derived batteries can potentially be made with more sustainable processing with lower cost and lower energy requirements, which could be more sustainable for manufacturing and beneficial for our society. I believe that could open some new markets, and potentially add value to the whole supply chain.”
A key difference between the use of sodium and lithium in batteries is that sodium-ion batteries cannot use the conventional battery material graphite, which is used in lithium-ion batteries to store lithium ions. Fortunately, wood provides a solution.
“We need other forms of carbon to be able to develop high-performance sodium-ion batteries, which is where lignin can come in,” said McDowell. “We can carbonize the lignin to create hard carbon with particular structure and properties, and we can develop high-performance sodium-ion battery materials.” The natural abundance of both sodium and wood could be revolutionary for battery technology, improving costs, energy requirements and overall environmental impact. “Battery manufacturing is expanding really rapidly across the world. Here in North America, and here in Georgia, there is massive investment in battery manufacturing and electric vehicle manufacturing.
One of the challenges is that many of the raw materials are not found or produced in the United States. It’s useful and really necessary to have access to these materials to make large quantities of these batteries,” said McDowell. “Lithium-ion batteries are great, but some of the materials used in lithium-ion batteries are either somewhat rare or use a lot of energy to make. Wood-derived batteries can potentially be made with more sustainable processing with lower cost and lower energy requirements, which could be more sustainable for manufacturing and beneficial for our society. I believe that could open some new markets, and potentially add value to the whole supply chain.”
“Opportunities to replace single-use plastics are very good. These are the kinds of materials that we really would like to replace with things that don’t persist in the environment for as long.” — Meisha Shofner, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology School of Material Science and Engineering
USING WOOD COMPONENTS TO MAKE BIOPLASTICS
Plastics, a major focus in the sustainability conversation, have traditionally been produced from petrochemical-derived polymers. However, they can also be derived from wood components, transforming them into more ecofriendly bioplastics. Producing polymers from wood products such as cellulose and lignin is not a novel concept, noted Meisha Shofner, a professor specializing in polymers at Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Material Science and Engineering.
“There are a few ways to use woodbased materials to make bioplastics. Those were basically the first polymers before we had chemicals that came from fossil fuels,” said Shofner. “We were making things from cellulose just like we’re trying to do now. The paper industry has been doing it well for a long time.”
Global efforts to reduce plastic waste have been central to the conversation around climate change, with recycling being a focal point of a potential solution. However, nearly half of all plastics produced are single-use plastics — meaning they can’t be recycled due to their polymer structure. These plastics have the potential to remain in the environment for centuries.
“If you consider the lifetime you need a package for, you don’t need a plastic package that will last a thousand years. You need it to last long enough to get the object to where it needs to be,” said Shofner. “Opportunities to replace single-use plastics are very good. These are the kinds of materials that we really would like to replace with things that don’t persist in the environment for as long. Wood-based materials have a clear benefit and I think it’s easy for people to understand why that’s a benefit.”
Bioplastics have another, sometimes overlooked, benefit: their weight.
“We often put heavy fillers into plastics. If we are able to use wood-based materials, which have lower density, we could end up with an overall lighter product, which could help with transportation costs and fuel efficiency,” said Shofner. “Opportunities to minimize weights and to replace packaging that would last forever are great places to use these materials more.”
DISRUPTING TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT DISRUPTING THE ECONOMY
Batteries and plastics are just some of many carbon products that could have key components replaced with woodbased materials and lead to higher efficiency, lower costs and significantly lower environmental impacts. In order for this replacement to happen without significant disruption to our way of life, there are three areas of careful consideration, according to Arduengo: technology, economics and social responsibility.
“We want to be technologically disruptive and provide new opportunities and technologies, but we don’t want to be economically disruptive. We want to keep the economic system working the way it has been and flowing as it has been,” said Arduengo. “Same thing at a social level. We’d like to keep stability within the social structures too without disrupting that.”
This wouldn’t be the first time such a transformational change has been achieved in human history. Arduengo points to the abundant availability of sustainable wood-based carbon products in the US Southeast and the stewardship efforts of local forestry companies and private landowners as key reasons why it can happen again.
“If we are able to pull this off — the replacement of petroleum with a sustainable source of carbon — we basically will provide in the 21st century a green gusher that parallels the oil gushers that in the middle of the 20th century put us on that petroleum track and led to so much economic growth,” said Arduengo. “We have a chance to revisit that in a different way, and it’s not with material we have to dig out of the ground — it’s material that grows right on top of the ground and grows really well in this part of the country.” ■
John Casey is a strategic communications professional who supports clients through the art of storytelling. In his downtime, John can be found hunting and fishing on his family’s centennial farm in Northwest Georgia.
Plastics, a major focus in the sustainability conversation, have traditionally been produced from petrochemical-derived polymers. However, they can also be derived from wood components, transforming them into more ecofriendly bioplastics. Producing polymers from wood products such as cellulose and lignin is not a novel concept, noted Meisha Shofner, a professor specializing in polymers at Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Material Science and Engineering.
“There are a few ways to use woodbased materials to make bioplastics. Those were basically the first polymers before we had chemicals that came from fossil fuels,” said Shofner. “We were making things from cellulose just like we’re trying to do now. The paper industry has been doing it well for a long time.”
Global efforts to reduce plastic waste have been central to the conversation around climate change, with recycling being a focal point of a potential solution. However, nearly half of all plastics produced are single-use plastics — meaning they can’t be recycled due to their polymer structure. These plastics have the potential to remain in the environment for centuries.
“If you consider the lifetime you need a package for, you don’t need a plastic package that will last a thousand years. You need it to last long enough to get the object to where it needs to be,” said Shofner. “Opportunities to replace single-use plastics are very good. These are the kinds of materials that we really would like to replace with things that don’t persist in the environment for as long. Wood-based materials have a clear benefit and I think it’s easy for people to understand why that’s a benefit.”
Bioplastics have another, sometimes overlooked, benefit: their weight.
“We often put heavy fillers into plastics. If we are able to use wood-based materials, which have lower density, we could end up with an overall lighter product, which could help with transportation costs and fuel efficiency,” said Shofner. “Opportunities to minimize weights and to replace packaging that would last forever are great places to use these materials more.”
DISRUPTING TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT DISRUPTING THE ECONOMY
Batteries and plastics are just some of many carbon products that could have key components replaced with woodbased materials and lead to higher efficiency, lower costs and significantly lower environmental impacts. In order for this replacement to happen without significant disruption to our way of life, there are three areas of careful consideration, according to Arduengo: technology, economics and social responsibility.
“We want to be technologically disruptive and provide new opportunities and technologies, but we don’t want to be economically disruptive. We want to keep the economic system working the way it has been and flowing as it has been,” said Arduengo. “Same thing at a social level. We’d like to keep stability within the social structures too without disrupting that.”
This wouldn’t be the first time such a transformational change has been achieved in human history. Arduengo points to the abundant availability of sustainable wood-based carbon products in the US Southeast and the stewardship efforts of local forestry companies and private landowners as key reasons why it can happen again.
“If we are able to pull this off — the replacement of petroleum with a sustainable source of carbon — we basically will provide in the 21st century a green gusher that parallels the oil gushers that in the middle of the 20th century put us on that petroleum track and led to so much economic growth,” said Arduengo. “We have a chance to revisit that in a different way, and it’s not with material we have to dig out of the ground — it’s material that grows right on top of the ground and grows really well in this part of the country.” ■
John Casey is a strategic communications professional who supports clients through the art of storytelling. In his downtime, John can be found hunting and fishing on his family’s centennial farm in Northwest Georgia.
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Georgia Forestry Magazine is published by HL Strategy, an integrated marketing and communications firm focused on our nation's biggest challenges and opportunities. Learn more at hlstrategy.com
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