MechChem Africa May-June 2022

⎪ Products and industry news ⎪

The climate case for wood, pulp and paper

upgrade due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the benefits that enhanced ventila tion bring. Bearings are a key component within the fan motors of air conditioners. By taking advantage of NSK 60 and 62 series deep groove ball bearings and the world’s first 100% bioplastic cage brought to mass market, air conditioner OEMs can boos t the i r sus ta inabi l i ty credentials. Moving forward NSK will continue ex panding its use of bioplastics in products for other sectors, such as automotive, with a view to further reducing carbon emissions and contributing to the cre ation of a carbon-neutral society. www.nskeurope.com “Harvesting wood makes the circular bio-economy possible. If we don’t have sustainably grown and sourced wood, we can’t replace fossil-based products and do all of the things that climate adaptation demands,” Molony concludes. www.thepaperstory.co.za for batteries for electronics, or extracting sugars and hemicellulose for bio-based chemicals. “Third, we need to ensure we have enough trees to supply the increased demand for wood-based products.” South African ecosystems are not tree dominated. “We only have half a million hectares of indigenous forests, which are fragmented and occur along the south and eastern coastal inland mountains. Importantly, they are protected.” South Af r i ca p l ant s f as t -growi ng exotic tree species to produce timber, and currently has 1.2-million hectares of these industrial plantations. Also, 25% of forestry-owned land is not planted with trees, but home to wetlands, grasslands, indigenous forests and areas of high con servation value. Tree breeding and sustainable intensi fication – planting more productive trees on less land –are actively being practised in South Africa. The breeding, selecting and testing of new hybrid varieties is aimed at increasing pulp yield per hect are across diverse climatic regions. Trees are also bred for superior wood proper ties and resistance to biotic and abiotic threats including frost, drought, pests and diseases. “As a sector, we can demonst rate that having commercial plantations has prevented the increased use, destruc tion and degradation of natural forests. This speaks to the heart of the way South African forests are managed – sustainably and responsibly,” Molony says.

mainly plants – it is possible to reduce lifecycle CO 2 emissions by 91% in com parison with conventional plastics made from fossi l fuels, thus contributing to carbon-neutral initiatives. As a point of note, conventional bioplastic components have suffered from low heat resistance, but tests show that the cage material selected by NSK can withstand operating temperatures of up 120 °C. Sales of new air conditioners are set to increase as they enter the price range of a growing number of households across Europe, while homes and workplaces with existing air conditioners are looking to that world forests were sequestering close to 300 Gt of carbon. Commercial forestry achieves this both through growing trees, which absorb car bon dioxide, but also by harvesting them at the right time, with carbon being stored in harvested wood products. “Harvesting makes space for younger trees that take up more carbon dioxide than the i r older counterpar ts ,” says Molony, adding that the climate benefit is thus evident in two places. “Through a sta ble and increasing carbon storage in the forest itself, and in the forest products.” Molony notes, “Many vilify the forestry sector without understanding its renew ability and circularity, and fail to recognise its ability to store carbon and crucially, how it helps to cut back on fossil fuels.” That said, however, deforestation must be reduced in the context of indigenous or tropical forests and illegal wood trade. Climate change is not caused by people in developing countr ies fel l ing trees . Instead, it’s caused by high- and middle income countries burning fossils. We need to focus on displacing these fossil emis sions by using wood’s inherent power as the ultimate renewable. “We do this, first, by increasing uptake of wood products in traditional markets. Organisat ions such as FAO recognise wood as a viable substitute for carbon intensive materials such as steel and concrete in construction, and plastic and texti les in everyday appl ications. It is also present in everyday life in the form of paper, tissue, packaging and cellulose products,” says Molony. “Second, we need to explore the po tential of wood fibre and process waste in new applications, such as the use of lignin

Following its development in 2021 of the world’s first bioplastic cage for rolling bearings, NSK can now reveal its initial product line-up. The new heat-resistant cage will be available on its 60 and 62 Series deep groove ball bearings, which are ideal for fan motors in air condition ers. Moving forward, NSK will continue expanding its product portfolio and the assoc i ated range of appl i cat ions for OEMs looking to develop environmentally friendly products. By manufacturing the bearing cage from a bioplastic material – which is de rived from renewable biomass sources, trial forestry is a destructive force isn’t easy, but the global forestry and forest products sector continues to tackle these misconceptions,” says Jane Molony, execu tive director of the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA). “We stand firm in the fact that a holistic, sus tainable and circular forest bioeconomy is essential to fighting climate change.” To understand why paper and wood products are vital to a lower carbon foot print, we can borrow from Nobel Prize winning phys ici st Richard Feynman’ s assertion that trees don’t grow from the ground, they grow from the air. The Food and Agricul ture Organisat ion’s (FAO) Forest Resource Assessment 2015 stated It’s fair to assume that most people, when considering ways to fight climate change, don’t immediately think of forestry. But there is a unique climate case for sustain able wood – it is the only material that can naturally and significantly decarbonise our planet by driving down demand for illegally harvested wood, while providing functional alternatives to non-renewable materials that have significantly higher environmental footprints. “Debunking the notions that indus Tree breeding and sustainable intensification – planting more productive trees on less land – are actively being practised in South Africa. Photo courtesy of Mondi SA.

World’s first bioplastic bearing cage

38 ¦ MechChem Africa • May-June 2022