XYLAN-2.0 · Plant biomass for high-performing sustainable materials

Plant biomass for high-performing sustainable materials

Wood represents an abundant and increasingly important natural resource. It mainly consists of a number of cell types that have undergone what is called "secondary cell wall formation”. This is a process where the normal cell wall is thickened extensively after the cell has reached its full size and shape. This strengthens the cell wall tremendously and the cell types that do this, such as fiber cells, often serve a function of structural support to the tissue where they are found, such as in the stem of trees. The mechanical properties of wood are therefore closely linked to secondary cell wall formation process. However, a lot of unresolved questions remain in this area, for instance what rules governs the wall components to self-organize into the observed patterns during wall assembly outside the cell and how do the plant exert control over these self-organizing processes? If elucidated, the knowledge could lead to improved uses of wood-based products, particularly high-performance materials. This could contribute significantly to reduce the use of plastic and strengthen a carbon-neutral economy. The overall objectives are to link changes in the basic building blocks of secondary cell wall formation and correlate these to changes in self-organization of these components. The complexity of the components makes this challenging and experiments need to be done both in living plant systems and in the test-tube for then to compare the results between these two major types of experimental systems. It is a major goal to be able to control the process in the test-tube in a similar manner as the plants are doing it, as this argues that we have gained a good understanding of the biological phenomena. The knowledge can then be applied in making better wood-based materials.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз