After deriving nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) from paper mill waste, Shaul Lapidot and his colleagues at the Hebrew University developed composite foams. From the August 2, 2011 article by Cameron Chai on Azonano,

NCC foams developed by Lapidot and his team are light-weight and highly porous. The foams were further strengthened by reinforcing it with furan resin. Furan is a hemicellulose-based resin obtained from waste of raw crops, including the left outs from processing of rice hulls, corn cobs, oat hulls, and sugar cane.

The composite foams can be used in a number of applications including furniture and car interiors. Given that Israel is not noted for its forestry industry, it can’t come as a surprise that the Israelis are partnering with a Swedish company to produce this new product.

From an international perspective, we have the Brazilians working on nanocellulose fibres (my most recent posting about the Brazilian effort was June 16, 2011) with the Israelis (+ Swedes) and the Canadians focused on NCC. (I have posted about the Canadian effort many times. Here are three: Alberta’s latest NCC plans in a July 5, 2011 posting; developments in Quebec in a May 31, 2011 posting; and an interview with NCC researcher, Richard Berry in an Aug. 27, 2010 posting.)