TallBoard: Tall oil application in industrial fiberboards

Purpose and goal

The TallBoard project aims to establish a new value chain for forest biorefinery by replacing the fossil-based synthetic paraffin wax with tall oil-based hydrophobic formula at the industrial scale fiberboards and considerably reducing the carbon footprint of the final fiberboard panels. The previous Vinnova-BioInnovation projects illustrated the great potential of using tall oil-based hydrophobic agents in lab and pilot-scale fiberboards, while this project has focus on the upscaling potential for manufacturing fiberboard panels in full-scale industrial environments.

Expected effects and result

The project envisions replacing the fossil-based paraffin wax in fiberboard panels by establishing a new value chain for forest biorefinery through development of value-added products from tall oil, manufacturing an effective bio-based hydrophobic agent, and producing industrial-scale fiberboards (TRL7), thus merging the forest biorefinery with the existing wood product value chain. This substitution effect caused by replacing fossil-based materials with ones from renewable resources offers a potential strategy to decrease greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Planned approach and implementation

The TallBoard project is led by Linnaeus University (LNU). The project activities are steered by key Swedish and international companies in the forest product value chain, and the scientific questions will be answered by the academic partners, e.g., LNU and SLU. The implementation plan includes i) the development of bio-based hydrophobic agents from tall oil derivatives, ii) evaluating the hydrophobic effects in fibreboard panels at lab, pilot and industrial scales (targeting TRL7), and iii) analysing the market and sustainability relevances (targeting MRL5 and SRL5).