Why should we use cork in construction?
ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY NATURAL PRODUCTS
The cork is the bark of cork oak (Quercus Suber L.), which means it is 100% natural tissue. Its structure consists of suberine honeycomb microscopic cells and air-filled lignin. Other compounds identified in its chemical composition, but in smaller quantities, would be polysaccharide, tannins and wax. One cubic centimeter cube contains about 40 million cells - about 800 million in a single cork of natural cork. It takes 25 years for each tree until it can be peeled for the first time and only at the third peeling (at the age of 43), the cork, also known as "amadia", meets the high quality standards for cork plugs. The first two "virgin" and "secundeira" corks as well as the peeled one from the bottom of the tree become the raw material for insulation, flooring and other products for various fields Such as: construction, fashion, design, health, energy production and aerospace. PLUTA is harvested by specialized professionals, each time in May-August, when the tree is in its most active stage of growth and is easier to peeled without damaging the trunk. Cork Oak is the only tree whose bark is regenerating, gaining a finer texture after each harvest. Over its life span, which averages 200 years, cork can be peeled about 17 times. PLATA Expandata boards are a sustainable material for sustainable construction. OAK FLOORSA FUTURE WITH THE FUTURE
Cork oak forests occupy an estimated area of over 2.2 million hectares in the Western Mediterranean basin. About 90% of the area occupied by this species is in Portugal, Spain, Morocco and Algeria. Of all cork oak forests, about 340,000 tons of cork are harvested annually. Portugal, which owns one third of the surface of cork oak forests, is the largest producer, accounting for 55% of world cork production. The sector of cork processing plays a particularly important role in these countries at the economic, social and environmental level. In Portugal, where oak is the National Tree and occupies 23% of the country's land, major reforestation initiatives have been developed at ten thousand hectares per year or an annual increase of about 4%. HANDLING WITH LATEST TIME TECHNOLOGY For example, in cars - inside the Mercedes F700 prototype, the raft was applied as well as the skin - it is also used for interior components in buses, high-speed trains and airplanes. It also plays an important role in the construction of bridges and highways, in the production of energy, railways, dams and airports. Also in pollution control, if integrated in oil absorbers, or sprinkled in the form of compressed air granules for renovating monuments and building façades. In sports, it maximizes the performance of hockey puck, golf balls and baseball balls, badminton flyers, table tennis racquets, darts, Olympic kayaks and surfboards. New and surprising uses are born every day in the research process: cork, cork and cork are already a reality. In health, it is used in vaccines and will soon be used as a powder in cosmetics due to its hypoallergenic characteristics. It was also tested in anti-bullet equipment due to its shock resistance. In cinematography, due to the low weight of the cork, small cork granules are used for special effects for explosions. Cork is not only used on Earth. NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) chose the raft to protect the heat shields and gaskets that seals spacecraft, which gives cork an important role in successfully launching and operating these vehicles. It is the beginning of a new era of discovery, of a more glorious horizon for raft and its possibilities, as unlimited as Space. Combined with state-of-the-art technologies, raft enhances performance, comfort and product charm.SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS
A LIFE FOCUS Montado (cork oak forest) is an important environmental, social and economic pillar in the Mediterranean countries. These forests support a unique and fragile ecology that is a habitat for rare and threatened species. They represent the foundation of one of the 35 most important ecosystems in the world for biodiversity conservation - on a par with Amazon, Savana Africana and Borneo. Over 200 species of animals and 135 plant species find ideal conditions for survival in cork oak forests. Perfectly adapted to warm climates and arid soil, cork oak forests protect against erosion and desertification. They represent a fire barrier due to the low combustion of the raft and assume an important role in the balance of the hydrological cycle. They provide an essential contribution to the air we breathe by absorbing carbon dioxide, which without these forests would be released into the atmosphere.
Cork oak forests are estimated to account for up to 14 million tonnes of CO 2 per year, a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the main cause of climate change.
Equally surprising is the fact that corkscrew enhances their abilities to absorb these gases during the natural regeneration process after shelling - a peeled tree absorbs an average of five times more CO₂. Its ability to retain carbon dioxide is also transmitted to cork products that continue to provide this CO₂ absorption function.
These forests are the perfect example of the balance between preserving ecological and sustainable development - only the fact that trees are not damaged during shelling is a unique case in terms of sustainability. They represent the foundation of a future economy. Reflecting the fact that oak plum culture is the most paid agricultural activity in the world, including a wide range of agricultural, forestry, forestry, hunting and economic activities - cork industry is the force that drives this sustainable development, helping to maintain Thousands of jobs and keep people on their land.
According to the WWF - World Wild Fund for Nature, more than one hundred thousand people in southern Europe and North Africa depend directly or indirectly on these forests. Only in Portugal, which boasts the largest surface area of oak cork in the world, around 700 companies depend directly on this economy; About 10,000 factory jobs; 6,500 harvest jobs and thousands of indirect jobs (logistics, tourism, etc.).
The processed cake (around 70% in plugs) is mainly directed to exports (90%), accounting for 2.2% of Portugal's total exports.
Cork has played such an important role that at the end of 2011, it was unanimously declared by the Portuguese Parliament - the Portuguese National Tree - and has been protected since the 13th century.
Raw material - just a raft
Without additives ... the agglomeration of the granules is done with their own resin
93% of the energy consumed in the production process is biomass (waste from its own production process)
Waste from the production process is 100% reusable (expanded cork granules + dust)