USDA Forest Products Laboratory

woodpile-3-1229344-1280x960The Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) is a research station of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. FPL works to conserve and extend the nation’s forests by promoting efficient use of wood products and by conducting research in the areas of advanced structures and composites, nanotechnology, woody biomass, forest mycology and many other areas. FPL offers access to their laboratories and equipment to research and industrial partners. Over the past century, FPL has obtained hundreds of patents for their technologies.

The PDC entered into a joint venture with FPL in 2012, working together to conduct research on the properties of nanocellulose and advance commercialization of nanocellulose-based materials. FPL has recently opened a pilot-scale demonstration facility for nanocellulose and, as of 2013, the PDC’s own nanofibril pilot plant is operational and producing materials.

For more information, visit their website or their blog, Lab Notes.

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