[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6424\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EAlgae and vegetable oils give wood a whole new shine\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUnlike PVC or aluminium, its feedstock is renewable, its production is carbon neutral and its waste is biodegradable, yet wood has one major drawback \u2013 it starts to degrade when exposed to moisture, harsh temperatures and bright lights.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsually, the solution is to coat it in oil-based paints and varnishes \u2013 that\u2019s good for the finish, but not so great for the environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne solution fresh out of the lab is a formula containing vegetable oil, a water-based solvent, and a pinch of inorganic nanoparticles.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Extreme cold in Sweden has damaged some of our testing equipment, but the window frames are all fine.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Ale\u0161 Ugov\u0161ek, Project Manager, M SORA\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The nanoparticles help reinforce the structural integrity of the coating and catalyse molecular bonds within it,\u2019 said Carlos del Castillo, from Inspiralia in Madrid, Spain, who coordinated the EU-funded project ECOVARN that developed the mixture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The result is a natural coating that is both reliable and looks good. That was not around before.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause coating formulations are extremely complex, swapping ingredients in them is tricky. Successful recipes owe at least as much to experimentation as they do to well-planned chemistry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESeaweed\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe efforts of the research teams at ECOVARN have been pushed further in the \u0026nbsp;NEXT1KOAT project, which was coordinated by Francisco Melero from the Technical Research Centre of Furniture and Wood (CETEM) in Murcia, Spain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We extract the raw materials from seaweed grown off the coast of Ireland and Scotland,\u2019 he said. \u2018A series of chemical steps then transforms the biomass into natural alcohols that we can process into sustainable paints and varnishes.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to benefits for the climate, these coatings present fewer health hazards to woodworkers and consumers. Furniture-makers using conventional wood coatings are obliged to work in well-ventilated areas and wear protective masks because the products are dissolved in toxic toluene. By contrast, many of the bio-based alternatives are water-borne.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs well as being safer, some of these new coatings and treatments can enhance the properties of wood, such as its ability to insulate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EM SORA, a window frame manufacturer in \u017diri, Slovenia, has been working over the past years with the University of Ljubljana to develop better insulating window frames made of thermally modified wood.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir product traps as much as twice the heat that earlier window frames can contain and even outperforms many plastic and aluminium frames sold today.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith support from the EU-funded WINTHERWAX project, M SORA and its partners are now attempting to coat this thermally treated timber in a naturally derived wax to increase its lifespan.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Dr Ale\u0161 Ugov\u0161ek, the project manager at M SORA who coordinated WINTHERWAX, dip-coating the timber and heating it helps cram the wax inside its cellular structure. The resulting surface is highly hydrophobic and unappetising to insects and fungi.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are testing how well the wax extends the lifespan of our thermally treated wood in five test sites across Europe,\u2019 said Dr Ugov\u0161ek. \u2018So far, extreme cold in Sweden has damaged some of our testing equipment, but the window frames are all fine.\u2019\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-njvsiosarbi5pia7hx5pgutfy3l4frkj5mxfp908ale\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-NjvsIOsarbI5Pia7HX5PguTfY3l4frkj5mXFP908aLE\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]