Page 7 - Georgia Forestry - Issue1 - Winter 2021

INNOVATION
Higher Demand, Greater Sustainability
Research at Georgia Tech Heralds a New Future for Forestry and the Environment
By Chris Butler
New innovations at Georgia Tech promise greater future demand for trees and, in turn, increase the forestry industry’s ability to create new jobs. This research
should also produce more capacity to capture carbon in working forests. Researchers are, for example, seeking alternatives to the plastics that we use to package our groceries, which are not environmen- tally friendly.
Georgia Tech Professor and Associate Director of the Renewable Bioproducts Institute Chris Luettgen said researchers are examining ways to increase demand for forest products. One example involves taking a bilayer of bio-based material — nanochitin sourced from sea shells, lobster shells, crab shells or shrimp shells — and combining that with a layer of nanocellulose from trees. This bilayer film can be produced with a very good oxygen barrier, creating the potential for replacing fossil-based plastic bags.
“You can apply this to blow-molded bottles and films and grocery bags and any kind of film-form- ing plastic that is typically polyethylene-based. You can make it out of something bio-based instead,” Luettgen said.
He added that these innovations require people to invest more in forests.
“I think what it does is, it increases demand for cellulose. We know that trees are the best source of cellulose,” Luettgen said. “If you think about
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STEPHEN B. MORTON