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Wood Plastic Composites are in Your Future By Jon Dougal With the proliferation of green building materials hitting the market almost daily it is hard to find a unique story on either the product or the company producing it. JER Envirotech ("JER") is one of those success stories worth telling. JER is focused on preferable alternatives to the pure wood and plastic products industry. The company is commercializing breakthrough patent-protected technology in various wood-plastic composites (WPC) markets. And you say “So What?” The importance to this technology and products is that this process is able to reclaim waste stream wood fiber and several other waste stream materials. Combined with their patented plastic recycling technology to make useable building materials and therefore impact climate change by utilizing the embodied energy resident in the waste stream. Painted and treated wood surfaces are cleaned and the resultant mess is handled through typical waste stream remediation practices. Growth in WPCs has exploded in recent years due to its environmental and performance advantages. New innovative production techniques have led to better quality WPCs and open these composites up to new applications. The scarcity of wood in Asia combined with the difficulty of using standard plywood for building applications has created an as-yet unmet need for a better building material, particularly for panel boards. This in turn has made WPCs a viable option for new applications. In addition, prices have fallen as volumes have increased, making WPCs more cost-effective. JER was started in 1997, by Ed Truman, a 27 year veteran of plastics technology from the auto industry. Initially, JER focused on simple and reliable techniques in wood finishing, plastics, steel, aluminum, fiberglass and other substrate finishings. JER joined with the National Research Council of Canada and the Industrial Materials Institute to co-develop a suitable recycling technology for wood and plastic wastes and the manufacture of more advanced composite compounds and products. The joint research resulted in the development of a variety of high performance wood thermoplastic composite compounds. JER addresses two key issues driving the alternative wood industry - the need to reduce the depletion of forest coverage and government regulations that restrict the use of harmful chemicals found in many thermoplastics: o Manufacturing inputs are recycled wood waste and virgin/recycled plastic. o No waste is created during production as any excess material is reused. o Using waste from existing wood processes allows JER to more efficiently utilize the entire tree and avoids any new harvesting. o WPCs are considered non-hazardous waste and can be easily disposed of after use. JER's products can even be recycled. o Waste products become a valuable resource - and WPCs move materials from short life cycle applications to long life cycle ones. o JER uses Polypropylene (PP) for its plastic input, which is an advantage. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is used in many composite materials, contains chlorine gas, which is toxic. JER has developed new technology to allow for the broad application of more environmentally friendly PP in new products. o WPCs contain no formaldehyde or volatile compounds. o The material structure of WPCs means that a WPC gives off minimal or no chemicals over its life cycle. Wood-plastic composites (or wood-thermoplastic composites or WPCs) have been around for many decades. Early technologies to combine wood and plastic were applied in a variety of industries, particularly the automotive industry. These early applications primarily used thermo set plastic, which cannot be reformed by being reheated. New technology led to thermoplastics, which can be reformed and reused over time. Many household product containers are made with thermoplastics, and we see them in our “blue box” at the curb. The majority of modern WPC products use thermoplastics. Through joint research activities with the National Research Council of Canada, JER Envirotech has developed and patented proprietary technology that combines wood waste with high-grade plastic. Thermoplastic types include polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polypropylene (PP). All of JER's products are made with PP. Wood-thermoplastic composites are made by combining wood waste (sawdust, fibers, flakes or flour) and plastic together with our patented process which results in a compound product that combines the best properties of both pure wood and high-grade plastic. The wood particles are completely coated with the plastic, providing superior resistance to rot, excellent dimensional stability and strong thermal properties. The versatility of the composite product has led to testing by several major companies from different industries for numerous product applications. These companies are searching for an environmentally preferable alternative, which is cost-effective in today's market. JER is the preferable alternative to pure wood, plywood, OSB and MDF. WPC's can be used for pallet manufacture, decking, paneling, concrete forms, and furniture sub-base foundations. It can be srewed, nailed, clued, and milled in many configurations. Because pallets are a transglobal product that need to be fumigated in various POE's, JER's products are in demand because of their non-hygroscopic (water absorption inclination) property which means no most molds and fungi can gain a foothold. One final note of major importance. Both in the U.S. Gulf Coast and Asia where rice is a major crop the removal of the outer shell to make white rice causes a waste problem. Generally the rice hulls are burned as a means of disposal, which would just be an air pollution particulates matter, bad enough. However, rice hulls contain “silica” which is a carcinogenic material - it causes cancer. JER uses these rice hulls in their compounding formula and thus help to clear the air of silicates. www.JERenvirotech.com |
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