Scientists look to trees for sustainable future

Trees and their cellulose were a main topic of conversation at the American Chemical Society's National Meeting and Exposition this past March. Many of the seminars focused on the use of specially processed cellulose in the design and engineering of materials modeled after biological systems.

Cellulose consists of long chains of the sugar glucose linked together into a polymer, a natural plastic-like material. It's what gives wood its remarkable strength and is the main component of plant stems, leaves and roots. Traditionally, cellulose's main commercial uses have been in producing paper and textiles, but development of a highly processed form of cellulose, termed nanocellulose, has expanded those applications and sparked intense scientific research. Cellulose is the most abundant polymer on Earth, a renewable and sustainable raw material that could be used in many new ways.