Tree bark transformed into durable floor coatings for ships and trucks

Researchers are exploring the potential of tree bark, a material often discarded as waste, to create high-quality, sustainable products. The Holzforschung Austria (HFA), in collaboration with other European partners, is leading an initiative to transform bark into durable floor coatings for applications like transport trucks and ships.

Each year, the wood processing industry in Austria generates nearly ten billion euros worth of products from trees like beech and oak. However, the bark from these trees is typically treated as waste, with a significant portion being burned. Across the European Union, approximately 14 million tons of bark are produced annually.

The EU project "SuperBark," coordinated by the Finnish research institution VTT, is investigating how to utilize bark's components. The goal is to develop special wood floor coatings that are at least 95 percent bio-based. This approach offers a dual benefit: it makes use of an abundant, underutilized raw material and provides an alternative to current coatings made from phenol and formaldehyde.

These petroleum-based resins are not only derived from fossil fuels but formaldehyde is also classified as a health hazard. The "SuperBark" project aims to replace these with a material from a renewable resource that is also fully biodegradable. Natural phenols found in tree bark, such as tannins, can provide scratch resistance and hardness to these new coatings. Tannins, known for their protective role in trees and use in leather tanning and winemaking, could offer superior properties to synthetic resins in floor coatings.