In many Asian countries, rice straw is a major agricultural residual flow. ECOBoards international has been creating panels made from the shredded stems for several years. Through application of heat and pressure the fragments are bound by lignin, a substance that is present in the rice straw. This results in a firm board material that contains no glue and that can last for years. Moreover, every kilo of ECOBoard captures 0,98 kilogram of CO2 from the air.
ECOboard currently consists of 95% rice straw. This raw material is still mainly grown in various Asian countries and concerns a waste stream from agriculture. However, the aim is to work much more locally and to make building boards that consist of European crops such as the grass species miscanthus.
- For both miscanthus and rice straw, the first harvest takes place two years after sowing. After these two years, however, it can be harvested annually for 23 years.
- The straw is bound with its own natural lignin without formaldehyde glue or other VOCs.
- In addition, ECOBoard goes even further than the principle of “Cradle 2 Cradel” as it starts with raw materials that are now a waste problem, but still delivers high-quality and healthy building material and furniture that can be easily reworked into equivalent sheet material at the end of its life.
ECOboards can be used in many ways. As a sheet material it is suitable for walls, ceilings and floorboards. Those who use it creatively can even turn it into furniture and find other creative uses for it.
- Per kilogram of ECOboard, 0.98 kilograms of CO2 is removed from the air and stored in the material.
- Depending on how intensively the ECOboard is used, the lifespan is between 70 and 100 years. After that, the material can be recycled without any problems.
- At the moment, the rice straw still comes from a lot of China, where it is waste products. The intention is to produce on a more local scale.