Many high-quality furniture panels are currently made of wood fibres in combination with phenol-based thermosetting resins. While this substance is not on the EU list of substances of very high concern, it is extremely toxic. An alternative is the use of the natural adhesive lignine. Lignine is abundantly found in nature in woody plants. Wageningen University & Research has, together with NEMHO (joint research centre of Arpa and Trespa, among others), developed an alternative resin based on lignin technology.
This research has led to the launch of a product line that can be used to produce lab tables and other high-quality furniture with 50% less phenol formaldehyde.
What’s next
The next step is developing a 100% biobased alternative for phenolformaldehyde