| Predecessor | Wood Technologies |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Wood |
| Website | kebony |
Kebony is a Norwegian wood producer, which manufactures furfurylated wood. The company has its roots in Wood Polymer Technologies (WPT), which was founded in 1996 and changed its name to Kebony in 2007. Kebony has a factory in Skien (Norway) and in Antwerp (Belgium).
Kebony has developed an environmentally friendly technology which provides an alternative to threatened and endangered tropical hardwoods, and traditional impregnated wood. In the process, a liquid byproduct of the sugar industry, furfuryl alcohol, [1] is used to treat the wood. Using pressure, vacuum and heat treatment, the liquid transforms to furan resin and is tied together with the cell structure of the wood in order to improve the wood's abilities permanently. The woods used are FSC-certified, [2] PEFC-certified and carry the Nordic Ecolabel "the Swan".
The technology has been described in multiple articles in media such as CNN, [3] [4] BBC, [5] The Economist [6] and Financial Times. [7] CNBC Business has listed Kebony as one of Europe's 25 most creative companies. [8]
Ochroma pyramidale, commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus Ochroma. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking, due to its softness and its high strength compared to its low density. The name balsa is the Spanish word for "raft."
A cutting board is a durable board on which to place material for cutting. The kitchen cutting board is commonly used in preparing food; other types exist for cutting raw materials such as leather or plastic. Kitchen cutting boards are often made of wood or plastic and come in various widths and sizes. There are also cutting boards made of glass, steel, or marble, which are easier to clean than wooden or plastic ones such as nylon or corian, but tend to damage knives due to their hardness. Rough cutting edges—such as serrated knives—abrade and damage a cutting surface more rapidly than do smooth cutting implements.
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Furfurylated wood is the end product of treating wood with furfuryl alcohol. This chemical process is also called furfurylation. Furfurylation is a commercially used wood modification process to enhance the physical, mechanical and biological properties of wood. In this process -which is based on principles of wood science- the cell walls of the wood swell with furfuryl alcohol, which polymerizes within the cell walls. This treatment reduces the water absorption capacity of the wood, thus minimizing its tendency to deform with changes in moisture. The hardness and rot resistance of the modified wood are also improved compared to natural, untreated wood. The furfuryl alcohol used is obtained through the hydrogenation of furfural from biological agriwaste residues, such as husks and bagasse.