Super Wood is Strong as Steel

Feb-10-18 An innovative new densification process results in wood as strong as steel.

Developed by a team from the University of Maryland, the process involves boiling the wood in a mixture of sodium sulfite and sodium hydroxide to remove the lignin and hemicellulose. The wood is then hot-pressed, collapsing the cell walls so that they form ‘highly-aligned’ cellulose nanofibers.

According to the team, the treated wood is twelve times stronger and ten times tougher than natural wood, and could offer an alternative to steel or titanium alloys.

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