General Manager Manufacturing and Bioproducts at Scion Elspeth MacRae, with Dr Will Barker, CEO of NZBIO (left) and Jared Scarlett of Baldwins.
Scientists at Scion have solved a growing environmental problem for wood panel manufacturers.
Warren Grigsby and his team have developed the world's first wood panel resins (glue) using biobased ingredients.
That solution has earned the team the "Biotechnology of the Year" award at NZBIO's annual conference in Auckland.
When Scion, the Crown Research Institute that specialises in science around forestry, wood products and bio materials, learned the level of formaldehyde emissions from wood panels were being regulated lower in countries like Japan, the United States and in the European Union, with New Zealand following suit, it looked to biotechnology to find ways of reducing the emissions.
Wood panel resins (glues) are traditionally made with formaldehyde and urea or phenol from petroleum based precursors. The Scion team developed a biobased resin replacement that gives off less formaldehyde emissions than natural wood.
