ETORKI is developing a new process for extracting tannins from radiata pine bark

The project, led by ETORKI in collaboration with TECNALIA, started in 2019 as part of a round of aid for projects for forest bioeconomy innovation driven by the Department of Economic and Infrastructure Development of the Basque Country.

It starts with radiata pine bark obtained in Etorki’s industrial process. One new application is extracting tannins. Tannins are used in industries like leather manufacturing (tannins are one of the most important natural products used in industry because of this application) and wine industries. In addition, they have high potential for replacing phenol in adhesives formulas.

The FOREST-TAN project is highly innovative. It starts with a raw material the company is currently using mainly as an energy source and it will use an extraction process that avoids using toxic and flammable organic solvents. ETORKI S. Coop is studying how to bring value to a product like pine bark to obtain a product with greater added value.