If scientists have their way, furniture could soon be constructed from wood products created using cow manure.
If scientists have their way, furniture could soon be constructed from wood products created using cow manure.
According to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal, researchers with the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory and the University of Wisconsin are working together on a way of utilizing biomass from anaerobically digested cow manure in the construction of particleboard, a wood product commonly used in furniture construction. Biomass is the moist, fibrous material created after anaerobic digestion is used to break down manure. Some farm operations simply recycle the material as bedding for the cows but, by using it in the manufacturing of wood products, additional value could be added.
Researchers are quoted as saying that when the biomass is used instead of sawdust, the resulting product is as strong as the original and at less cost. But, a lot of work is still left to do, they state.
