Promoting tall oil resin as a green additive in polymer materials

The aim is to increase the use of tall oil resin as a bio-based alternative within the polymer and plastics industry, which would boost interest in the raw material within the bio-based value chain of the forestry industry.

In Sweden, almost 60 per cent of the country’s land area is considered to be productive forest land, corresponding to 23.5 million hectares. Around 40 per cent of the forest, or 9.5 million hectares, consists mainly of pine forest, making it the most common type of forest. Various wood-based raw materials can be extracted from pine, including both macromolecular substances (such as lignin, hemicelluloses and cellulose) and low-molecular-weight substances (such as phenolic compounds, terpenoids, acids and alcohols).

The forestry industry can significantly increase its value by using biorefinery techniques to extract and diversify products beyond traditional timber, utilising biomass by-products to generate bio-based chemicals, materials and energy from its pine forests. This approach also enables the conversion of what is usually regarded as waste into valuable products and improves resource efficiency.

The social science aspects lay the foundations for a long-term improvement in the conditions for effective, state-of-the-art, ethical and sustainable research, innovation and implementation of bio-based plastics through exploratory and participatory analyses of the digital, cross-sectoral and regulatory aspects of the innovation infrastructure from local, national and global perspectives.