Page 15 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 3 - Summer 2024

SCAN HERE to watch Georgia Tech’s “Forestry in Focus” video
At the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI) at the Georgia Institute of Technol- ogy 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 burgeon- ing field of science called Xylochemistry.
Xylochemistry makes use of sustain- able, plant-based raw materials to develop industrial products ranging from jet fuel to industrial solvents to generic pharma- ceutical 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 technol- ogy and infrastructure to replace the reli- ance 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 Geor- gia 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 pro- duction 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 pres- ents an unparalleled opportunity. Scien- tific advances are enabling chemists to convert woody biomass into functional
carbon via a heat process that ultimately results in petroleum. (It’s the same pro- cess that occurs in nature, but it takes much longer there.) According to Ardu- engo, 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.
By John Casey
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.
Left: Georgia Tech’s Bo Arduengo prepares for an experiment under the fume hood.
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MIKE GREGORY