Cantanhede, 22 October 2024 (Agroportal) – Agroportal highlighted the second workshop of the RN21 Integrated Project, organised by CoLAB ForestWISE in Cantanhede, which showed how Natural Resin is transforming industries as diverse as food, automotive, textiles and footwear.
A challenge to the sector
In the opening session, Carlos Fonseca, CTO of CoLAB ForestWISE, challenged the sector to reorganise so that, by the end of the consortium, there is an organisation able to sustain resin-related initiatives in the Iberian Peninsula, stressing that there is around a year and a half to make this change. José Lopes, from the Coimbra Region Intermunicipal Community, highlighted the entity’s involvement in RN21, the TransForm Agenda and the RESIST project.
From second processing to new applications
António Mendes Ferreira, president of United Resins, presented the second-processing process and Natural Resin derivatives, as well as innovative solutions for footwear, textiles, automotive and food.
Participants visited four interactive thematic stations run by project partners: food (“Natural Preservation”, TECMEAT), automotive (“Innovation on wheels”, SIMOLDES), textiles (“Weaving the future”, TINTEX) and footwear (“Sustainable steps”, CTCP), where they learned about applications of rosin and its derivatives in packaging, lighter car components, textiles and adhesive systems and soles for footwear.
The workshop closed with Anabela Carvalho and Lorena Coelho, from CeNTI, who presented rosin-based solutions within a circular economy approach, able to increase the bio-based content of products and improve technical properties.
Originally published in Agroportal.