Your Next House Could Be Recycled Carbon Fiber and Wood

1. Your Next House Could Be Recycled Carbon Fiber and Wood If you know anything about Salt Lake City, then you probably know we are in the midst of a construction boom right now. There are new houses going up all over the place. Some are apartments while others are single-family dwellings. Some are intended for middle- and lower-class buyers while others are aimed exclusively at those looking for luxury homes. We cannot help but wonder about the building materials being employed. Why building materials? Because we are getting ever closer to building houses using materials made from recycled carbon fiber. That's right, the same material that goes into fabricating jetliner panels, high-end bicycles, and hockey sticks is on its way to home construction. It is only a matter of time before builders are using carbon fiber as a replacement for both metal and wood. Thermally Modified Lumber We recently ran across a Composites World article from assistant editor Hannah Mason talking about a great project going on at Washington State University (WSU). Researchers at WSU have been working with the Composites Recycling Technology Center to come up with a building material that is essentially a combination of recycled carbon fiber and modified wood. The finished material begins as thermally modified lumber, a kind of lumber produced by exposing wood to high heat in the absence of oxygen. Thermal modification initiates a chemical change within the structure of the wood that makes it more durable. The process also makes the wood less prone to decay in deformation as a result of expansion and contraction. Unfortunately, lumber is not as strong after being thermally modified. So while it is an excellent choice for cosmetic applications, it is not all that great for the structural components of a house. But what if you added carbon fiber panels? Would they make thermally-modified lumber strong enough? That's what the WSU researchers have been working on. Combining Recycled Materials Coming up with a structurally strong material that still has all of the properties of thermally-modified lumber means introducing something else to the wood to make up for what the thermal process has taken away. Enter recycled carbon fiber.

2. It's possible to create carbon fiber panels using recycled carbon fiber waste. The waste materials are ground-up and then subjected to high heat to separate fiber from plastic. The fibers are then pressed into non-woven mats that can be combined with epoxy resin and cured to make panels. WSU researchers have taken those panels and combined them with thermally-modified wood panels to create what is known as a cross laminated timber (CLT). The finished product is as structurally strong as untreated lumber – even more so in some respects – while still being resistant to decay, deformation, environmental influences, and so forth. It is also fire resistant. CLT Is Ready to Go Researchers say that their CLT is ready to go for all intents and purposes. Washington's building code has already approved the use of CLTs and similar materials for buildings of up to 18 stories high. Now it is a matter of convincing builders to start using it. CLT could quickly become the material of choice among home builders. It is strong, durable, and easy to work with. It is also more sustainable in that producing it requires fewer trees and a production process that generates fewer greenhouse gases. Will your next home be made of recycled carbon fiber and thermally modified wood? It's possible, at least if you decide to build new. CLT made with recycled carbon fiber panels looks to be the next big thing in building materials.