Russian scientists have invented fireproof paper houses

The staff of the Institute of Chemistry of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences proposed an economically advantageous method for the production of nanocellulose material. This composite is stronger than steel and thus is not susceptible to gorenje. However, large amounts of energy comparable to aluminum smelting were needed to produce it. For this reason, the material was too expensive for mass use — its cost reached hundreds of dollars per gram.

The new technology makes it possible to reduce these costs at least tenfold. This will make it possible in the future to create an environmentally friendly wood fiber material that can be used in construction as thermal insulation panels. It can also be used for sorption, medical, hydrophobic, electrical and fluorescent products.

"The production of nanoscale cellulose cannot be cheap because it is a labor-intensive process with high energy costs. But we managed to reduce the cost and simplify it due to the fact that we do not bring cellulose to the final nanoscale state, but get a material with the necessary properties, including only small amounts of nanocellulose. Thanks to this, the cost has decreased by an order of magnitude," said Yuri Shchipunov, Head of the Laboratory of Colloidal Systems and Interphase Processes at the Institute of Chemistry of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Nanoscale nanocrystalline cellulose is produced from ordinary cellulose, which can be obtained, for example, from sawdust or paper recycling.