Future of Finland videos
Following videos are curated clips from the Future of Finland Science Series produced by Frank Media
Future of forest industry
The forest industry has gone through big changes during the last decades. The demand of printing paper has decreased. A major reason is the internet. People don’t read their news on paper. However, at the same time, thanks to the internet more packaging materials are needed. The demand for soft papers grows too. Pulp is needed, but in different ways than before. Cellulose could also mean textile in clothing or structural materials like composites.
Cellulose is everywhere
Cellulose is the most abundant polymer on earth, making it a potential substitute for almost any imaginable material. Cellulose is a part of your everyday life. Besides paper products, you can find cellulose in your toothpaste, cosmetics, food and clothes. Dissolving pulp is a very pure form of cellulose used to make a wide variety of products ranging from cellophane to lipstick, ice creams and LCD-screens. Cellulose is everywhere.
Clothes from wood
Cotton is an ideal material for clothing and it has been used for over 7000 years. Our demand for textiles is growing even faster than the population and there is not enough land or irrigation water to fulfil the need for cotton. This is why engineers all around the world are trying to create new textile fibres from sustainable and natural raw materials. Thus, we are witnessing a mounting interest in producing textile fibres from trees.
What is Nanocellulose?
Nanocellulose is a strong material. Nanofibrils are extremely small fibrous particles that can form a very strong network when dried. They also have the ability to form gel-like structures with water in very small concentration. These properties make it a potential material in various new applications.
Energy from wood
In chemical terms fossil carbon (coal) and renewable carbon (wood charcoal) are very similar; they are both 90 % carbon and both also suitable sources of energy. It is important to mobilise renewable fuel sources, which allow us to leave the fossil carbon to where it is. The most climate friendly way to use forest energy is to utilise forest debris, such as shavings, sawdust and slash to energy production.
A complex pulp mill
A pulp mill is a complex which combines chemical and technical engineering and also power production. As for energy, a modern pulp mill is more than self-sufficient. Today, the pulp industry produces a remarkable share of Finland´s energy needs creating electricity and heat to nearly a million households just as a by product.
Sophisticated wood
Wood is one of the most sophisticated building materials known on Earth. Its sophistication is not man-made; it´s naturally made. A tree grows by the power of the Sun and as it grows it absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere and releases oxygen. Wood is a strong material but by engineering and gluing, it can be profoundly stronger and do things we are only beginning to realise.
Wood changes the building concept
Wood is a competitive material also for large-scale construction projects. CLT (Cross Laminated Timber) is engineered wood which can replace concrete slabs, beams and pillars also in apartment blocks. CLT is used for wall structures and load-bearing walls as well as vault structures. Wood can be used for the whole body of the building, which has changed the building concept rather extensively.
Efficient forestry is based on efficient information technology
Forests are source of renewable raw material for a multitude of ecologically sustainable products. Ensuring this resource requires efficient and sustainable forestry. The forestry of today is very modern. Efficient forestry is based on efficient use of information technology and digitalised data. The geographic information system is essential in all forestry. The data is collected by field surveys as well as laser scanning and aerial photography.