Scientists turn sawdust waste into fire-resistant building panels

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a novel fire-resistant building panel made from sawdust waste combined with struvite, a mineral commonly found in wastewater treatment. This innovation addresses the timber industry's challenge of managing large quantities of sawdust, which is typically burned or landfilled, releasing carbon without added value. By using an enzyme derived from watermelon seeds to control struvite crystal formation, the team created a stable, cohesive composite material that is stronger under compression than spruce timber and significantly more fire-resistant—taking over three times longer to ignite and forming a protective layer that slows burning. Beyond its fire safety benefits, the material offers enhanced sustainability through recyclability. Unlike traditional cement-bonded particleboards, these panels can be disassembled, ground, and heated to separate and recover their components. The mineral binder, newberyite, can be reprocessed and recombined with sawdust to produce new panels, enabling a circular lifecycle that reduces construction waste. Additionally, the material has potential agricultural uses as a slow