Material Innovation: Paper Pulp Furniture

Today’s furniture industry has put a priority on using environmentally friendly materials to replace traditional materials such as wood veneers and particle boards. In order to stay on top of the material trend, researchers are now focusing their efforts on studying materials that not only can replace natural materials, but also can be produced quickly, such as those made from natural fiber composites.

Wachira Saengrasami, lecturer at Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi’s Faculty of Architecture, experimented with paper pulp composite in furniture making. According to him, there is an abundant supply of paper pulp, which makes up more than 90% of paper. More importantly, paper pulp is easier and more cost effective to process than fiber obtained from agricultural crops.

“We mixed recycled paper pulp with cement, gypsum, sand, and water, then the composite material is tested for its physical and mechanical properties before being used to produce furniture and decoration pieces. We also used plastic meshes to bolster the structural strength,” said Wachira.

The study revealed that by adding paper pulp into the composite, the material becomes less dense, thus has a lighter weight and is easier to cut or nail in place. Plastic meshes help to support the structure when molded and shaped. When constructed a high chair with the paper pulp mixture, the overall weight becomes lighter, while the chair can withstand greater pressure when molded into shape.

The plastic mesh provides similar structural properties to those of wood veneer and softwood, and can be used to produce many types of furniture, such as shelves, tables, chairs, and toys.