# Bio-antiflammables (flame retardants) Bio-antiflammables replace halogenated flame retardants (brominated, chlorinated) — restricted under EU REACH and displaced by regulatory pressure in the US and EU — with phosphorus chemistry from renewable carbon, lignin-derived platforms, and bio-derived wood-fire-inhibitor formulations. Clariant's Exolit™ OP Terra achieves 100% renewable carbon content via mass-balance certification while retaining the halogen-free DEPAL (aluminum diethylphosphinate) chemistry's UL 94 V-0 rating even after recycling. Vertoro's Goldilocks® platform (Geleen, Netherlands, founded 2017) converts agricultural and woody residue lignin into flame-retardant building blocks at TRL 6, part of the EU Horizon BIOSAFIRE consortium (22 partners, ~80% biobased content target across naval, railway, home-appliance and wood-coating sectors). CitroTech (Oceanside, CA, NYSE American: CITR) formed a 50/50 joint venture with Hexion in April 2026 to deploy its patented fire-retardant chemistry — the only formulation recognized under the EPA's Safer Choice program — across the North American lumber and engineered-wood industry, replacing borate-based inhibitors. A large and active 2026 academic literature base (phytic acid, lignin-tannin conjugates, boron chemistry) signals a research pipeline still substantially ahead of its commercialization, making this an earlier-stage Industry than mature bio-based polymer or plasticizer categories. Source: https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/bio-antiflammables-flame-retardants/ Updated: 2026-08-18 ## Overview and value chain Markers: [EC: EPA Safer Choice program / EU REACH halogenated-flame-retardant restriction & Horizon Europe biobased-materials funding (BIOSAFIRE) / EU mass-balance renewable-carbon certification | OECD: Bio-based materials | Regulator: EPA (USA), REACH (EU)] Bio-antiflammables replace halogenated flame retardants — brominated and chlorinated compounds under increasing EU REACH restriction and US regulatory pressure over persistence, bioaccumulation and combustion-toxicity concerns — with phosphorus-based chemistry sourced from renewable carbon, lignin-derived biorefinery platforms, and bio-derived wood-fire-inhibitor formulations. Three distinct commercialization stages are visible in 2026: **mass-balance renewable-carbon phosphinate flame retardants**, where Clariant's Exolit™ OP Terra retains the halogen-free DEPAL (aluminum diethylphosphinate) chemistry of its established Exolit™ OP line — UL 94 V-0 rating preserved even after several rounds of recycling — while sourcing 100% of its carbon content from renewable feedstock (renewable-based ethylene) under a supplier-certified mass-balance principle, the same certified-renewable-carbon model used elsewhere in bio-based chemicals; **lignin biorefinery platforms feeding flame-retardant value chains**, led by Vertoro (Geleen, Netherlands, founded 2017 out of the Brightlands Chemelot Campus/DSM/Maastricht University/TU Eindhoven public-private partnership), whose Goldilocks® platform converts agricultural and woody residues into scalable lignin blends at Technology Readiness Level 6, now supplying the biosourced flame-retardants value chain of the EU Horizon BIOSAFIRE project (22 partners across Europe, targeting ~80% biobased content across naval, railway, home-appliance and wood-coating applications); and **bio-derived wood fire-inhibitor chemistry**, where CitroTech Inc. (Oceanside, California, NYSE American: CITR) formed a 50/50 joint venture with Hexion Inc. in April 2026 to deploy CitroTech's patented, EPA Safer-Choice-recognized fire-retardant formulation — the only long-term wood fire inhibitor in that program — across North America's plywood, OSB and engineered-wood manufacturing base, replacing borate-based inhibitors that weaken wood under pressure treatment. Underneath these three commercializing platforms sits a substantially larger 2026 academic research base — phytic acid (extractable from beans, cereals and oilseeds at up to 28% phosphorus by weight), lignin-phytic-acid conjugates, tannin-modified-lignin phenolic foams, and boron-based natural-material fire retardancy — signaling that bio-antiflammables remain an earlier-stage, pipeline-heavy Industry relative to mature bio-based polymer and plasticizer categories, where commercialization has outpaced the research literature rather than trailing it. The key directions of bio-antiflammables are: 1. **Mass-balance renewable-carbon phosphinate flame retardants:** Clariant's Exolit™ OP Terra — chemically and compositionally equivalent to the established Exolit™ OP 1230 (DEPAL, aluminum diethylphosphinate), but produced with renewable-based ethylene sourced under a supplier-certified mass-balance principle, achieving 100% renewable carbon content by mass balance while retaining non-hygroscopic, water-insoluble properties, high phosphorus content (23.3-24.0% w/w), and UL 94 V-0 performance for polyamides (PA6, PA66) even after several recycling cycles. 2. **Lignin biorefinery platforms for flame-retardant value chains:** Vertoro's Goldilocks® platform (TRL 6) transforms agricultural and woody biomass residues into scalable lignin fractions balanced for both upscaling practicality and molecular-range suitability, supplying the EU Horizon BIOSAFIRE consortium's biosourced flame-retardant value chain (22 partners, ~80% biobased content target, five use cases across naval, railway, home-appliance and wood-coating sectors); founded 2017 by CEO Michael Boot and CTO Panos Kouris out of the Brightlands Chemelot Campus/DSM/Chemelot InSciTe/Maastricht University/TU Eindhoven partnership. 3. **Bio-derived wood fire-inhibitor chemistry:** CitroTech's patented, science-backed fire-retardant chemistry — the only formulation recognized under the EPA's Safer Choice program — penetrates wood fibers to prevent ignition without the pressure-treatment wood-weakening drawback of traditional borate-based inhibitors; validated through more than a year of testing with major North American wood-products companies; UL GREENGUARD Gold certified and ASTM E84 Extended compliant; the April 2026 50/50 joint venture with Hexion Inc. combines this chemistry with Hexion's wood-adhesives manufacturing scale to reach plywood, OSB and engineered-wood producers. 4. **Bio-based flame-retardant research pipeline (phytic acid, lignin-tannin, boron chemistry):** a large, active 2026 academic literature base — phytic acid and its metal salts (iron, aluminum, sodium, lanthanum phytate) as phosphorus-rich bio-sourced flame retardants; lignin-phytic-acid conjugates and phosphorus/nitrogen-functionalized kraft lignin for particleboard and epoxy applications; tannin-modified-lignin phenolic foams for formaldehyde-free flame-retardant insulation; and boron-based fire retardancy for natural polymeric materials (wood, bamboo, nanocellulose aerogels) — represents the innovation pipeline feeding the next generation of commercial bio-antiflammable products beyond the three platforms above. ### Sectoral value chain ``` [biomass residue / renewable ethylene / plant phosphorus feedstock] ──> [biorefinery fractionation / mass-balance feed substitution] │ (lignin fraction / renewable phosphinate / bio-inhibitor) │ ▼ [finished flame retardant additive / wood treatment] <─── [compounding & formulation] <─── [certification testing (UL 94, ASTM E84, EPA Safer Choice)] <─── [chemical conversion (phosphinate synthesis / lignin functionalization)] ``` ### Value chain levels | Level | Description | Key inputs/outputs | |:---|:---|:---| | **Feedstock cultivation & extraction** | agricultural and woody biomass residue (Vertoro Goldilocks feedstock), renewable-based ethylene from mass-balance-certified biomass streams (Clariant Exolit OP Terra), plant sources for bio-inhibitor chemistry (CitroTech), phytic-acid-rich beans/cereals/oilseeds (research pipeline) | **In:** biomass residue, renewable feedstock streams.
**Out:** lignin fraction, renewable ethylene, or bio-sourced phosphorus precursor. | | **Biorefinery fractionation / mass-balance substitution** | Vertoro's TRL-6 process converts biomass residue into scalable lignin blends; Clariant's mass-balance principle substitutes renewable for fossil ethylene at the DEPAL synthesis feed, tracked via supplier certification | **In:** biomass residue or renewable feedstock stream.
**Out:** lignin building block or mass-balance-certified renewable ethylene. | | **Chemical conversion** | DEPAL (aluminum diethylphosphinate) synthesis from renewable-based ethylene (Clariant); lignin functionalization into flame-retardant building blocks (Vertoro); proprietary bio-derived inhibitor chemistry (CitroTech, formulation not publicly disclosed) | **In:** lignin fraction or renewable ethylene.
**Out:** phosphinate flame retardant, functionalized lignin, or bio-inhibitor formulation. | | **Certification & testing** | UL 94 V-0 flammability rating (retained after recycling, Clariant); EPA Safer Choice recognition, UL GREENGUARD Gold, ASTM E84 Extended (CitroTech); BIOSAFIRE consortium performance benchmarking against conventional toxic flame retardants at ~80% biobased content (Vertoro) | **In:** flame retardant additive or treatment formulation.
**Out:** certified, code-compliant fire-safety product. | | **Compounding & formulation** | Exolit OP Terra compounded into polyamide (PA6, PA66) engineering plastics; CitroTech chemistry formulated to penetrate wood fibers for lumber/OSB/plywood treatment; Vertoro lignin blends formulated into flame-retardant powders for naval, railway, home-appliance and wood-coating end uses | **In:** certified flame retardant / bio-inhibitor.
**Out:** compounded engineering plastic, treated wood product, or flame-retardant coating. | | **End-use & recycling** | consumer electronics, electrical installations, energy storage (Exolit OP Terra applications); plywood, OSB, engineered wood for commercial/residential construction (CitroTech/Hexion); naval, railway, home-appliance, wood-coating sectors (BIOSAFIRE/Vertoro); recyclability retained through several cycles for phosphinate-based products | **In:** finished flame-retardant product.
**Out:** fire-safe end product; recycled polymer stream where applicable. | Cross-cutting technologies of the sector: - **Mass-balance renewable phosphinate flame retardant (Mass-Balance Renewable Phosphinate Flame Retardant):** Clariant's Exolit™ OP Terra — DEPAL chemistry unchanged from the established Exolit™ OP line, but with renewable-based ethylene substituted at the synthesis feed under a supplier-certified mass-balance principle, achieving 100% renewable carbon content without altering performance, recyclability, or the halogen-free profile. - **Lignin biorefinery flame-retardant platform (Lignin Biorefinery Flame Retardant Platform):** Vertoro's Goldilocks® — a TRL-6 process converting agricultural and woody biomass residue into scalable lignin blends, now feeding the EU Horizon BIOSAFIRE consortium's flame-retardant value chain across five industrial use cases at ~80% biobased content. - **Bio-derived wood fire-inhibitor chemistry (Bio-Derived Wood Fire Inhibitor Chemistry):** CitroTech's patented formulation — the only long-term fire inhibitor recognized under the EPA's Safer Choice program — penetrates wood fibers without the pressure-treatment wood-weakening drawback of conventional borate-based inhibitors, validated over a year of testing with major North American wood-products manufacturers ahead of the April 2026 Hexion joint venture. - **Phytic-acid bio-based flame retardant (Phytic Acid Bio-Based Flame Retardant):** phytic acid (myo-inositol hexakisphosphate, up to 28% phosphorus by weight, extractable from beans, cereals and oilseeds) and its metal-salt derivatives — the most actively researched bio-sourced phosphorus flame-retardant chemistry in the 2026 academic literature, applied to lignin conjugates, cellulose films, wool fabric and polylactic-acid nonwovens, though not yet represented by a commercialized branded product in this Industry's confirmed 2026 sourcing. --- ## US The US bio-antiflammables landscape in 2026 centres on wood-products fire protection, where CitroTech's EPA Safer-Choice-recognized chemistry and its April 2026 joint venture with Hexion target the borate-based-inhibitor incumbents in plywood, OSB and engineered-wood manufacturing. ### CitroTech's EPA Safer Choice-recognized wood fire inhibitor, the Hexion joint venture - **CitroTech Inc. (Oceanside, California, NYSE American: CITR):** a specialty chemical company delivering environmentally-safe fire-inhibitor solutions for the lumber and building-materials industry; its patented, science-backed fire-retardant chemistry is the only long-term fire-inhibitor formulation recognized under the EPA's Safer Choice program, validated through more than a year of testing with several of North America's largest wood-products companies; UL GREENGUARD Gold certified and ASTM E84 Extended compliant; engineered to penetrate wood fibers and prevent ignition without the pressure-treatment wood-weakening drawback of traditional borate-based inhibitors. - **CitroTech-Hexion joint venture (announced April 21, 2026):** a 50/50 joint venture combining CitroTech's fire-retardant chemistry with Hexion Inc.'s (Columbus, Ohio; American Securities portfolio company) wood-adhesives manufacturing scale and industry relationships, targeting plywood, oriented strand board (OSB) and engineered-wood manufacturers seeking built-in Class A fire resistance for commercial and residential construction; the venture is positioned to secure several of North America's largest wood-products companies among its first commercial customers. - **EPA Safer Choice program:** a voluntary EPA certification recognizing formulations that meet stringent human-health and environmental-safety criteria beyond baseline regulatory compliance — CitroTech's is the only long-term wood fire inhibitor to carry the designation, positioning EPA Safer Choice (rather than a flame-retardant-specific mandate) as the operative US regulatory signal differentiating bio-derived fire-inhibitor chemistry from conventional borate and halogenated alternatives. --- ## CN China is both a major manufacturing base for conventional (largely brominated and phosphorus-nitrogen halogen-free, not bio-based) flame retardants and, per 2026 domestic market-research publishers, a growing consumption market for flame-retardant chemicals broadly — but live sourcing in this cycle did not confirm a company-specific 2026 bio-based flame-retardant commercial launch on the scale of Clariant's Exolit OP Terra, Vertoro's BIOSAFIRE participation, or the CitroTech-Hexion joint venture, so no Chinese producer is tabled this cycle. ### Market context without a confirmed bio-based producer event - **产业调研网 / chinabgao.com sector reports:** 2026-dated Chinese market-research reports project the flame-retardant chemicals market reaching roughly 2.8 million tons with price increases of 10-15%, driven by tightening "green barriers" reshaping the global supply chain — signalling regulatory and cost pressure on halogenated incumbents, but these are market-forecast publications rather than company-specific sourced events. - **Directional context:** China hosts large-scale conventional flame-retardant manufacturing (including the world's largest brominated flame-retardant producers), and Chinese producers are actively developing new halogen-free phosphorus-nitrogen chemistries (e.g. Shandong Unibrom Polymer's 2026 precision-carbonization phosphorus-nitrogen system) — but these confirmed 2026 developments are halogen-free rather than specifically bio-based/renewable-carbon, so they sit outside this Industry's bio-based scope rather than qualifying for the table; a bio-based-specific Chinese producer is a candidate for a future enrichment pass. --- ## EU The EU leads bio-antiflammables commercialization on two fronts: Clariant (Switzerland) has shipped a mass-balance renewable-carbon phosphinate flame retardant at commercial scale, while Vertoro (Netherlands) supplies the lignin feedstock platform behind the EU Horizon BIOSAFIRE consortium's flame-retardant value chain — with EU REACH's restriction of halogenated flame retardants the primary regulatory driver of both. ### Clariant's mass-balance Exolit OP Terra, Vertoro's Goldilocks lignin platform and BIOSAFIRE - **Clariant (Additives & Adsorbents business unit, Switzerland):** Exolit™ OP Terra is chemically and compositionally equivalent to the established Exolit™ OP 1230 (DEPAL, aluminum diethylphosphinate) but sources renewable-based ethylene under a supplier-certified mass-balance principle for 100% renewable carbon content — non-hygroscopic, insoluble in water and organic solvents, 23.3-24.0% phosphorus by weight, and retains UL 94 V-0 rating for PA6/PA66 engineering plastics even after several recycling cycles; part of Clariant's broader Exolit™ halogen-free portfolio (AP ammonium-polyphosphate line, EP epoxy-resin liquids, OP organophosphorus line) built on more than two decades of development and 500+ patents/patent applications. - **Vertoro (Geleen, Netherlands, founded 2017):** a chemical startup spun out of the Brightlands Chemelot Campus/DSM/Chemelot InSciTe/Maastricht University/TU Eindhoven public-private partnership, founded by CEO Michael Boot and CTO Panos Kouris; its Goldilocks® platform (Technology Readiness Level 6) transforms agricultural and woody biomass residues into a versatile, scalable lignin-based feedstock intended to ultimately replace crude oil across materials, chemicals and fuels; within the EU Horizon BIOSAFIRE project, Vertoro has identified viable scalable lignin blends from its pilot plant for use as flame-retardant building blocks, balancing upscaling practicality against the molecular range needed for high-performance applications. - **BIOSAFIRE (EU Horizon project, coordinated from Zamudio, Basque Country, Spain; CORDIS project ID 101178218):** a 22-partner consortium across Europe (including Italy, Turkey, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland) developing bio-based flame retardants from lignin and tannins following a Safe and Sustainable by Design approach, targeting ~80% biobased content while matching the fire-retardancy performance of conventional toxic benchmarks, demonstrated across five use cases in naval, railway, home-appliance and wood-coating sectors — the project is not a single company but the organizing EU vehicle connecting Vertoro's feedstock platform to industrial flame-retardant applications. --- ## Leading companies and research institutes | Company / Institute | Country | Key products / platforms | Tech features | Status 2026 | |:---|:---|:---|:---|:---| | **CitroTech** | 🇺🇸 USA | *Patented bio-derived wood fire-inhibitor chemistry; 50/50 JV with Hexion (Apr 2026)* | NYSE American: CITR; only EPA Safer Choice-recognized long-term wood fire inhibitor; UL GREENGUARD Gold, ASTM E84 Extended; targets plywood/OSB/engineered wood | commercial | | **Clariant** | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | *Exolit™ OP Terra (mass-balance renewable-carbon DEPAL phosphinate)* | 100% renewable carbon via mass-balance certificate; UL 94 V-0 retained after recycling; 23.3-24.0% phosphorus; part of 500+ patent Exolit™ portfolio | commercial | | **Vertoro** | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | *Goldilocks® lignin platform (BIOSAFIRE flame-retardant value chain)* | Founded 2017; TRL 6; agricultural/woody-residue feedstock; ~80% biobased content target across 5 BIOSAFIRE use cases | pilot | | **BIOSAFIRE** | 🇪🇸 Spain (EU-wide) | *Horizon Europe bio-based flame-retardant consortium (lignin + tannins)* | 22 partners across Europe; founded 2024; CORDIS project 101178218; ~80% biobased content across naval/railway/home-appliance/wood-coating use cases | pilot | --- ## Tech stack and innovations The bio-antiflammables stack spans three commercializing routes — mass-balance renewable-carbon phosphinate chemistry, lignin biorefinery platforms, and bio-derived wood fire-inhibitor formulations — sitting atop a substantially larger academic research base in phytic acid, lignin-tannin, and boron chemistry that has not yet produced its own branded commercial product in this Industry's confirmed 2026 sourcing. 1. **Mass-balance renewable phosphinate flame retardant:** - Clariant's Exolit™ OP Terra keeps the DEPAL (aluminum diethylphosphinate) molecule and performance profile of the established Exolit™ OP 1230 unchanged, substituting only the ethylene feedstock for a renewable-based, supplier-certified mass-balance equivalent — a "drop-in" renewable-carbon upgrade path that requires no reformulation or requalification by downstream engineering-plastics customers. - This mirrors the certified-renewable-carbon approach used elsewhere in bio-based chemicals (ISCC PLUS mass balance for resins and additives) — the flame-retardant sector's version of decoupling renewable-carbon sourcing from product reformulation risk. 2. **Lignin biorefinery flame-retardant platform:** - Vertoro's Goldilocks® process (TRL 6) fractionates agricultural and woody biomass residue into lignin blends calibrated for both industrial upscaling and the molecular range flame-retardant synthesis requires — a scalable feedstock platform rather than a finished flame-retardant product, positioning Vertoro as the upstream biorefinery layer that the BIOSAFIRE consortium's downstream formulators build on. - The BIOSAFIRE project's ~80% biobased-content target across naval, railway, home-appliance and wood-coating use cases represents one of the most systematic EU efforts to move lignin-and-tannin flame retardancy from academic demonstration to industrial-relevant scale. 3. **Bio-derived wood fire-inhibitor chemistry:** - CitroTech's chemistry penetrates wood fibers directly rather than relying on pressure-treatment impregnation, addressing the mechanical wood-weakening drawback of conventional borate-based inhibitors while achieving EPA Safer Choice recognition — the only long-term fire inhibitor to do so — alongside UL GREENGUARD Gold and ASTM E84 Extended certifications. - The April 2026 Hexion joint venture is a go-to-market innovation as much as a chemical one: pairing a smaller specialty-chemical innovator's formulation with an established wood-adhesives manufacturer's production scale and customer relationships to reach plywood/OSB/engineered-wood producers faster than either party could alone. 4. **Phytic-acid and lignin-tannin bio-based flame-retardant research pipeline:** - Phytic acid (up to 28% phosphorus by weight, extractable from beans, cereals and oilseeds) and its iron/aluminum/sodium/lanthanum salts are the most actively published bio-sourced phosphorus flame-retardant chemistry in 2026, applied experimentally to lignin conjugates, cellulose/cellulose-hybrid films, wool fabric, and polylactic-acid nonwovens. - Parallel research tracks include phosphorus/nitrogen-functionalized kraft lignin for low-formaldehyde fire-resistant particleboard adhesives, tannin-modified-lignin phenolic foams for insulation, and boron-based fire retardancy for wood, bamboo and nanocellulose aerogels — a broad pipeline that, per this cycle's live sourcing, has not yet crossed into a commercialized branded product distinct from the three platforms above. --- ## Value chains and production pipelines ### Industrial pipeline of bio-antiflammables (EPA Safer Choice / EU REACH / mass-balance renewable-carbon certification) ``` ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 1. Feedstock cultivation │ ───> │ 2. Biorefinery │ │ (biomass residue, │ │ fractionation / │ │ renewable ethylene) │ │ mass-balance feed │ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 4. Certification & │ <─── │ 3. Chemical conversion │ │ testing (UL 94, │ │ (phosphinate synthesis │ │ ASTM E84, EPA Safer │ │ / lignin functional- │ │ Choice) │ │ ization) │ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 5. Compounding & │ ───> │ 6. End-use & recycling │ │ formulation │ │ │ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ ``` #### Stage 1: Feedstock cultivation & extraction Agricultural and woody biomass residue feeds Vertoro's Goldilocks® platform in the Netherlands; renewable-based ethylene feeds Clariant's Exolit™ OP Terra mass-balance chain in Switzerland; CitroTech's bio-derived precursor sourcing is proprietary and not disclosed in confirmed 2026 sourcing; phytic-acid research feedstocks (beans, cereals, oilseeds) anchor the broader academic pipeline. #### Stage 2: Biorefinery fractionation / mass-balance feed substitution Vertoro's TRL-6 process fractionates biomass residue into scalable lignin blends calibrated for downstream flame-retardant synthesis; Clariant substitutes renewable-based ethylene for fossil ethylene at the DEPAL synthesis feed under a supplier-certified mass-balance principle, with no change to the downstream DEPAL molecule. #### Stage 3: Chemical conversion DEPAL (aluminum diethylphosphinate) synthesis from renewable-based ethylene (Clariant Exolit OP Terra); lignin functionalization into flame-retardant building blocks within the BIOSAFIRE value chain (Vertoro); CitroTech's patented, proprietary bio-derived fire-inhibitor chemistry engineered to penetrate wood fibers. #### Stage 4: Certification & testing UL 94 V-0 flammability rating verified for Exolit OP Terra even after several recycling cycles; BIOSAFIRE benchmarks Vertoro-fed formulations against conventional toxic flame retardants at ~80% biobased content across five use cases; CitroTech's chemistry holds EPA Safer Choice recognition, UL GREENGUARD Gold certification, and ASTM E84 Extended compliance, validated through over a year of testing with major North American wood-products companies. #### Stage 5: Compounding & formulation Exolit OP Terra compounded into PA6/PA66 engineering plastics for consumer electronics, electrical installations and energy storage; BIOSAFIRE lignin-tannin formulations produced as flame-retardant powders for naval, railway, home-appliance and wood-coating applications; CitroTech's chemistry formulated to penetrate wood fibers for plywood, OSB and engineered-wood treatment ahead of the Hexion joint-venture scale-up. #### Stage 6: End-use & recycling Consumer electronics, electrical installations (connectors, circuit breakers) and energy storage for phosphinate-based products (Clariant), which retain flame-retardant performance through several recycling cycles; commercial and residential construction lumber products (CitroTech/Hexion), replacing borate-treated wood that weakens under pressure treatment; naval, railway, home-appliance and wood-coating end uses under the BIOSAFIRE consortium (Vertoro feedstock).