The Science behind Ecohelix Technology

Polymers consist of small molecules – monomers that are linked together to form a large macromolecule. Hemicellulose is a polymer present in terrestrial plant cell walls. It is a polysaccharide as cellulose, both servicing as structural components of the plant cell wall. Hemicellulose is a branched polymer compared to linear cellulose, which makes its properties different than that of cellulose. In pulp production hemicellulose and lignin need to be separated from the wood matrix to be able to utilize the cellulose as a raw material for different products.

Ecohelix patented technology uses biotechnology and membrane filtration to modify the structure of hemicellulose and lignin. Using laccase enzyme in the reaction, it creates a structure, which has increased molecular weight and charge as well as low viscosity even in high concentrations. This wood-based hemicellulose/lignin copolymer (WOODMER®) has high performing features in several demanding end-product environments.

The core of the technology is the enzymatic reaction which mimics wood formation trees utilize in nature.

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Building entirely from wood – Ecohelix sustainable production facility

Ecohelix has teamed up with Sweco, Eurocon Oy and AFRY AB to build a modern production facility entirely from wood. This highly ecological production plant planned for Örnsköldsvik in Sweden will produce 15 000 tons of renewable wood-based polymeric products. Ecohelix WOODMER® biopolymer can be used as sustainable component in paper chemical, packaging and cosmetics … Read more

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Let´s go to Domsjö

Domsjö Fabriker is a forward looking biorefinery, making more from the tree. Together with the owner, Aditya Birla and the customers, Domsjö Fabriker can help to drive development towards a sustainable bioeconomy that utilizes wood as raw material. Main products of the company are cellulose, lignin and bioethanol, all with an origin in sustainable Swedish forestry. The relationship between Domsjö Fabriker and Ecohelix was born during the early days of Ecohelix, when enthusiastic scientists and industrialsts met in the community of Royal Institute of Technology and Greenhous Labs, exchanged ideas, worked to proof their ideas right and started to think about the expansion from lab scale innovation to industry scale production. Now, the cooperation has raised to the next level.

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The Ecohelix Origin

Ecohelix’s main innovation is related to hemicellulose, which is on average about 25–30% in trees. It seems downright incredible that it has not been able to take advantage of this before. Now, things have changed and Ecohelix provides a solution. It has been the result of persistent research but was also inspired by the amazing biorefineries of nature.

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96%

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION AVOIDANCE COMPARED TO COMPETITION

15 000 t/a

LARGE SCALE PRODUCTION CAPACITY

10

YEARS OF RESEARCH

NORDIC EXCELLENCE IN
WOOD-BASED BIOPOLYMERS

“Join us in the journey to make our every day life more sustainable. There is still time to change the direction”

Founder & CEO

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