They Look to Fields, Not Forests, for Lumber

The house of Dan Adams' dreams is not built of natural pine 
or oak, or even brick or stone. It's built from milk bottles, 
sawdust, scrap papers, straw or, better yet, Iowa crops.

Adams, assistant professor of aerospace engineering and 
engineering mechanics, is part of an ISU research team that 
is developing new kinds of particle board by mixing soybean 
adhesive with fibers from such materials as switch grass, 
sorghum cane and even discarded white paper.

With some tinkering, Adams believes the group can produce 
board that will out-perform conventional lumber products.

Adams and his co-workers draw from diverse backgrounds to 
come up with new candidates for building materials. The team 
includes Deland Myers in food sciences; Monlin Kuo in 
forestry; Howard Heemstra in architecture; Dan Curry in seed 
sciences; and undergraduate student Kent Kruse.

The ISU researchers join a number of companies already 
developing unusual building materials -- such things as 
interior wall board and doors made from compressed straw; 
lumber from sawdust, recycled plastic bags, milk jugs and 
fiberglass scraps; and baseboard from soy flour and recycled 
newspapers. 

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contact:  Internal Communications, (515) 294-3129
updated:  5-25-95