Wood Concrete
An interesting new product was presented at IIDEX / NeoCon Canada: Mountain Pine Beetle Wood Concrete, or MPBWC. The concrete-like material was developed at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in response to the glut of unusable wood fibre left in the wake of the Mountain Pine Beetle devastation.
The material is intriguing in that it is much warmer looking and more organic than concrete, with some shades resembling cork more than concrete. MPBWC is also about half the weight of concrete, but it still has high strength and durability characteristics. According to UNBC’s research, a 4″ x 4″ column can bear a load of 20,000 pounds and it easily passed a two (2) minute torch test. Further, it is expected to pass non-combustibility tests given a wood content of no more than twenty (20) per cent.
MPBWC can be poured and moulded like regular concrete, but can be cut and machined with regular wood working tools. It also repels wood-boring insects and fungi and has no toxic emissions when uncoated.
UNBC was at IIDEX looking for distribution and manufacturing partners as the material is currently available only in bags with colour tints. However, they foresee its viability as a countertop material, floor and wall tile, outdoor surfaces, etc.
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