Wood is considered the very first source of energy for humanity. It is a renewable source which makes it attractive from the economical and ecological points of view. When meeting certain conditions, wood is seen as “a climate neutral and socially viable source of renewable energy” (Wood energy, n. d.). No wonder that scientists placed wood under close scrutiny. Sciencedaily.com published an article based on the materials of the University of Alabama. Professors of the alleged university together with professors of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany conducted a research into possible applications of wood for the purposes of creating chemical materials. The research proved to be a success. It demonstrates that it is possible to engage every carbon atom of a molecular skeleton from materials produced from wood (University of Alabama, 2015). Anthony J. Arduengo III, one of the researchers suggests a Lego-like building blocks metaphor to understand the process. According to it, the purpose of chemical synthethis is creation of important materials from building blocks. While petrochemistry provides quite a poor choice of block types, wood-based chemistry offers diverse blocks which can be ultilized for materials construction. The research team aims at finding ways to utilize specific properties of wood in the most efficient manner, which will also provide benefits for sustainable agriculture (University of Alabama, 2015).
Petrochemicals are subjected to various processing and consequently contribute to the final output of a great variety of products: plastics, soaps, detergents, medical products, rubbers, paints, etc. (Petrochemical products, n. d.). It is hard to overestimate the importance of petrochemicals for humanity. Yet, it has disadvantages, the major one being a threat to the environment. Global warming is one of the effects of petrochemicals use. Thus, considering the negative effects, it is quite obvious that wood might become the next base material to satisfy people’s needs. As I see it, using wood-based chemicals, we can simultaneously eliminate two major problems: environmental and economic. Due to its renewable nature, wood has the capacity to provide us with materials for an unlimited period of time. Besides, it definitely indicates a technological progress, which will inevitably lead to changes in education and culture.
References
Petrochemical products. (n. d.). Petrochemistry. Retrieved January 21, 2016 from http://www.petrochemistry.eu/about-petrochemistry/products.html
Wood energy (n. d.). FAO. Retrieved January 21, 2016 http://www.fao.org/forestry/energy/en/
