Uses agricultural waste

Kirei Canamo, made with reclaimed hemp hurd fiber leftover from fabric manufacturing, is a substitute for wood-panel products and is appropriate for use as a lightweight substrate or an architectural panel in millwork, cabinetry, furniture, and flooring for low-traffic areas. The panel is 70% pre-consumer recycled content and rapidly renewable, and is manufactured using a NAUF resin. Panels are 4' x 8' and are available in thicknesses ranging from 1/4"–1".

X-Core, manufactured by Xanita and distributed in the United States by EA International, is a corrugated fiberboard core that can be used in any number of applications, including shelving, wall panels, insulation panels, and filling for furniture. Some manufacturers laminate veneers with X-Core to make X-Board Plus. Environmentally preferable laminates can be chosen in this process. The core of X-Core is 60%–70% post-consumer recovered wood fiber and 30%–40% agricultural waste salvaged after sugar juice is extracted from sugar cane. The liner of X-Core is 91% post-consumer recovered wood fiber. X-Core is available in widths ranging from 8–120 mm and comes in 600 mm x 1200 mm panels. The company claims almost-zero VOC content in X-Core.

Verdyol Plant Research's HydroGold is a wheat straw hydromulch reinforced with flax fibers. Verdyol also offers a tackifier with urea-formaldehyde resin that GreenSpec recommends avoiding for toxicity reasons.

GeoSkin hydromulch products contain a blend of straw and reclaimed agricultural waste cotton fibers. GeoSkin is formulated for mild slopes, while GeoSkinXT contains additional tackifiers for moderate slopes.

Premium Insulating Sheathing is a vapor-permeable exterior sheathing alternative to plywood and OSB. It is 50% pre-consumer recycled wood fiber, 10% rapidly renewable vegetable starch that serves as a binder, and small percentages of clay, paraffin, carbon black, and formaldehyde-free adhesive. SturdyBrace is a similar product with greater structural qualities; it contains 75% fiber, 22% asphalt, and small amounts of starch and wax. These ½" sheathing products cut with a knife, have an R-value of 1.3, and are most appropriate behind vented rainscreen and reservoir claddings. The high permeability is an important feature in climates where wall-cavity drying to the exterior is important.

Kirei Coco Tiles are made from reclaimed coconut shells, which are normally burned or thrown away, and low- or zero-VOC adhesives and finishes. They can be used for wall covering, furniture, or other interior design purposes. Coco Tiles come in twelve different styles, some in 16" and some in 11.8" squares. Most of the tiles are self-backed and applied with silicone adhesive, or mesh-backed and applied with mortar; KC-008 has plywood backing.

The BioMax commercial-scale combined heat and power system is designed to use woody waste biomass as fuel. Downdraft gasifier technology converts a wide variety of waste biomass residues into a clean fuel gas which is then burned to produce power and heat. The fully automatic, modular system is designed for use with low-cost waste materials such as nut shells and wood chips. According to Community Power Corporation, efficiencies approach 80% in combined heat and power applications, with low emissions and non-hazardous char and ash. BioMax units are available in 25, 50, 75, and 100 kWe capacities.

Community Power Corporation has also developed a thermal-only system and a system that generates clean liquid fuel using the same waste biomass residues and gasifier technology. While the military is its largest market, the longest operating system of this emerging technology is a walnut farm in California commissioned in January 2008.

Fibersit's Fiber Reinforced Composite (FRC lumber) is made of 100% recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and waste fiber, including sawdust and rice hulls. Stronger than many composite materials on the market, FRC is available as decking, 2x4 and 2x6 structural members, trim, door jambs, and in other shapes and sizes.

Kebony uses a preservation process called furfurylation to increase the durability of maple, pine, and other woods. In the process, dubbed “Kebonization” by the company, furfuryl alcohol collected from agricultural waste reacts with the wood. The company claims the resulting decking, also called Kebony, has the dimensional stability of tropical hardwoods and is similarly resistant to decay from termites and fungi. According to the company stains take slightly longer to cure on Kebony, as it is intended to be installed without a finish. When installed, the wood is a golden brown that slowly turns to a silver-gray. At the end of it’s life, Kebony can be disposed of like untreated wood. The product is manufactured in Oslo, Norway, and imported through their offices in Roanoke, Virginia. The process meets the criteria for the Nordic Swan Label. Some of the wood is FSC-certified.

Graham Wood Doors manufactures several lines of FSC-certified, no added urea-formaldehyde (NAUF) architectural wood doors. The company uses FSC-certified particleboard, lumber, and engineered cores, and agrifiber cores with 70% rapidly renewable material. Graham Wood Doors are available in a variety of species (including oak, birch, and maple) in a choice of five door cores, 12 veneers, and 28 colors, and with fire ratings of 20 to 90 minutes. They are custom-built and require a three- to six-week lead time but are covered by a limited lifetime warranty.

The EarthLine series of laboratory furniture does not have the certifications that GreenSpec typically requires in furniture, but little laboratory furniture does, and Earthline has a lot going for it.

• Panel cores made of Medite II, which uses a formaldehyde-free MDI binder
• Veneers made from bamboo or hardwood with an FSC-certified option
• VOC-free clear-coat finishing process.
• Powder coated steel components including drawer bodies and internal shelves

PolyWhey Exterior Clear Wood Finish uses a water-borne resin and whey protein, a by-product of the dairy industry, as a binder to help provide a waterproof, mildew- and mold-resistant clear finish for decks, fences and other exterior wood surfaces. This finish has a VOC content of 95g/L and can be used on new, old, or pressure-treated wood, as well as on previously coated wood. PolyWhey Exterior Clear Wood Finish covers between 200 and 400 ft2 per gallon depending on rough or smooth wood, respectively, and dries in about an hour.

Kirei Wheatboard, made from waste wheat straw left after the grain has been harvested, is a substitute for wood-based MDF or particleboard and is appropriate for use in architectural millwork, furniture, cabinetry, and retail displays. Wheatboard, which is made in China, contains at least 90% agricultural waste material and is made with a no-added-urea-formaldehyde MDI binder. This product comes in 4' x 8' sheets with thicknesses of 1/2" and 3/4" and can be laminated, filled, sealed, painted, or stained. Exposed edges are intended to be finished in most applications.

Masonite’s Emerald Safe ‘N Sound solid-core interior doors have wheat-straw cores, skins made from composite wood, and stiles and rails made from made from solid wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). These doors reduce sound transmission and do not contain any added urea-formaldehyde. Safe ‘N Sound Emerald doors are available in 1-3/8" thickness and 6'8", 7'0", and 8'0" heights, with widths from 1'0"–3'0" for passage doors and 2'0"–6'0" for bifold doors. Hollow core doors are also available at a lower price point.

PolyWhey™ is a waterborne floor finish that uses whey protein, a by-product of the dairy industry, as a binder. These low-odor coatings contain no toxic heavy metals and have a VOC level less than 180 g/L. They provide a clear, scratch-resistant coating with twice the durability of other water-borne finishes, according to the company, making them suitable for high-traffic areas. PolyWhey finishes cover 500–600 square feet per gallon and can be applied with brush or spray gun, drying to the touch in about two hours and fully curing in about a week. Like polyurethanes, proper treatment of the floor before coating is critical to avoid uneven coats or bleed through by tannins. These coatings are available in semi-gloss or satin finish, in five-gallon, gallon, and quart sizes. The cans are made from 100% pre-consumer recycled polypropylene.