Winners of the Wood and Natural Fibre Composite Award 2015

07-Jan-16

About 400,000 tons of Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC) and Natural Fibre Composites (NFC) are produced in Europe every year. The most important markets are decking, light-weight components for automobile interiors and consumer goods, for example toys, as the organizer of the conference, nova-Institute (DE), presented in its latest market study. The Wood and Natural Fibre Composite Award highlights new materials and products from the world of Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC) and Natural Fibre Composites (NFC) that entered the market in 2015 or will soon be launched. More than 220 participants choose the three winning products out of six nominees. nova-Institute and Coperion are proud to announce the winners of the Wood and Natural Fibre Award 2015: First place: ONORA BV (NL), 100% bio-based coffin with hemp fibre reinforcement in injection moulding technology. The product is injection moulded which allows for great freedom of design and a variety of shapes and colours. The bio-based compound makes the coffin biodegradable and is an example for new large-volume applications of biocomposites. Life cycle assessments show a CO2 footprint that is not only lower than the CO2 footprint of conventional but also other eco-coffins. Second place: Millvision BV (NL), Flower pots made of biodegradable biocomposite with agro rest fibres. These flower pots produced of agro rest fibres from pepper and tomato cultivation and bio-based plastics are price competitive. They are used for tree nurseries and market-gardens and are cold soil biodegradable within just a few months. This new pot acts as fertilizer, improves plant growth and therefore prevents plastic waste from oil based containers and the associated expense. Third place: Aqvacomp Oy and Flaxwood Oy (FI), Cellulose fibre-reinforced polystyrene for music instruments. Those composites have the potential to replace the use of a number of rare and threatened wood species. Several recipes have been developed for various musical instruments with equivalent property profiles, for example a cellulose fibre composite replacing granadilla wood in clarinets. The components have excellent thermal and humidity resistance, reducing the typical tuning problems of wooden instruments