Boosting the Performance of Bio-Based Functional Nonwovens

The industrial production of new competitive products and bringing them to the international markets requires close collaboration between public and private actors. BOOST was built on the recognized opportunities in the growing market of sustainable nonwovens. Together with companies, the best practices have been collected, and clear areas for further development have been identified, forming the basis for the BOOST project.

The BOOST project seizes the opportunity provided by the strongly increasing market of sustainable nonwovens by focusing on the development of up-scalable solutions and utilizing and developing existing research environments of VTT and TAMK. The project focuses on the following themes:
- Functional binders for nonwoven materials
- Carded nonwovens made from recycled and bio-based materials
- Enabling technologies to fully utilize various recycled materials
- Up-scaling from lab to pilot
- Customer acceptance towards new sustainable nonwovens

BOOST research is built on the lessons learned and refined with companies, allowing for applied research focusing on industrially relevant materials, processability, and better performance. The information and material solutions produced are scaled up in VTT’s and TAMK’s research environments. The material and technology development is supported by the identification of scalable solutions and bottlenecks between different actors in the value chain for the green transition.

The VTT's and TAMK's project teams focus on the following technologies:
- Air-laid: Develop strengthening strategies and application areas for air-laid nonwovens
- Carding: Develop the process for recycled and bio-based raw materials for technical nonwovens
- Foam forming: Develop a value-added high-quality solution for recycled fibres derived from textile waste

TAMK's role is to study the carding technology and customer acceptance towards new sustainable nonwovens.

The BOOST project has the following impacts:
- Creating new business opportunities for value chain actors by expanding the applications and use of plastic-free nonwovens developed in Finland.
- Reducing environmental impact and plastic waste by using fossil-free raw materials, fibres, biodegradable and recyclable additives.
- Providing growth opportunities for the Finnish industry with job creation and sustainable economic growth.
- Advancing scientific knowledge and making a significant impact on the scientific community.

Based on the results of BOOST, we believe there are strong investment opportunities in Finland, leading to exports.

Business Finland Co-Innovation

Business Finland