Research Area:
Forest Service Strategic Goal 6: Conduct mission-related work in addition to that which supports the agency goals.
SPA: Resource Management and Use
Plant trials to move the soy adhesive technology from lab staff to industry
Cooperative research and development agreement with Heartland Resource Technologies (HRT) has moved from mainly laboratory work to a mixture of laboratory studies and plant trials on soy-based adhesives for composites. Plant trials include those for oriented strandboard using joint HRT-Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) technology and particleboard using non-added formaldehyde technology.
Yes, depending upon timing. Programs are moving forward to making more economically high performance oriented strandboard and a particleboard free of added formaldehyde. These involve several commercial partners.