Here is a non-paywalled description of the process. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a16758876/chemical-treated-super-wood-steel/ https://ww

Here is a non-paywalled description of the process. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a16758876/chemical-treated-super-wood-steel/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a167588... >Lignin is what makes wood rigid and brown. Somewhat counterintuitively, Hu and his team removed the wood's lignin polymers in order to make their wood even stronger. >The lingin removal allowed the team to compress the wood under a mild heat of around 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Without the lignin binding together the wood's cells, the scientists were able to make its cellulose fibers very tightly packed. >When the fibers are jammed together...the wood's fibers begin to form hydrogen bonds. So essentially they found a different (more natural-sounding for sure) way to polymerize cellulose. Right now bamboo or sugar cane are broken down and polymerized all the time via a different process to make plant-based plastics, rayon, etc.