Deforestation is one of the main attacks on the environment that contributes to climate change, as it is well known that trees are major climate regulators and absorb CO2. Here is the first “living wood” made in a laboratory that will put an end to the felling of trees.
Laboratory wood: an invention that will prevent forest deforestation
A team of scientists from MIT has created and developed an innovative method with which wood can be produced without having to leave the laboratory. This material can be made in all imaginable sizes and shapes. With this invention, very special products can be created.
Which would have the necessary characteristics for each use. Thus, for example, a table, a piece of furniture or a bed can be made without cutting down a single tree, but having the appearance and texture of wood. Another peculiarity of this product is the little waste that remains after use.
What is this material that will replace the need to cut down trees?
To create the wood-like material with this method, first the leaves of a plant called common zinnia are taken and their cells are removed. They are then combined with a very ductile gel that is enriched with nutrients, minerals and hormones that refine the mixture to make it purer.
This combination causes the plant cells to reproduce into other cells, which will be manipulated under laboratory conditions. This is a process similar to that of the human body, which possesses hormones that dictate the development of its cells and the appearance of certain distinctive traits.
Similarly, by varying the concentrations of these hormones in the nutrient medium, the plant components vary in shape and size. In other words, by simply manipulating these small chemicals, drastic changes in physical appearance and attributes can be created.
Finally, with a 3D printer fed with this material, many structures can be created with great precision, such as sofas or chairs with shapes as complicated as desired. It then goes through a setting process in the dark that lasts three to four months, depending on the object.
During this time, the material dehydrates and the result is an article made of artificial wood with all the attributes of natural wood. The best thing is that in the whole process not a single tree is cut down, being sustainable, ecological, environmentally friendly and without affecting large forests.
Different properties of the material can be adapted to the creation of articles
Its creators have discovered that, by adjusting some necessary chemicals during the growth of the material, it is possible to exert very precise control over the mechanical characteristics of the material, such as density, rigidity, weight, etc., making it very ductile.
An example of this is that scientists have found that, when they decreased hormones, they obtained open-cell and rounded materials with a low density. While higher levels of hormones resulted in a material with smaller but very dense cells.
So, with this chemical control, you can create items that are stiff and strong or others that are light and soft. Even the color can be predefined according to need. Another advantage is that it generates very little waste during and at the end of the process.
In conclusion, this “living wood” created in the laboratory replaces natural wood, marking the end of the deforestation that results in climate change. In addition, it does not produce waste, which is the cause of burning and CO2 release. Now we only have to wait for its commercialization.
