Cork placemats
On this Wikipedia the cork placemats links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Cork is a natural material used by humanity for over 5,000 years.
Cork presents a characteristic cellular structure in which the cells have usually a pentagonal or hexagonal shape. The cork industry is generally regarded as environmentally friendly. The tree continues to live and grow. Carbon footprint studies conducted by Corticeira Amorim, Oeneo Bouchage of France and the Cork Supply Group of Portugal concluded that cork is the most environmentally friendly wine stopper in comparison to other alternatives. Cork is extracted only from early May to late August, when the cork can be separated from the tree without causing permanent damage.
The workers who specialize in removing the cork are known as extractors. 3 times the circumference of the tree, and several vertical cuts called rulers or openings. To free the cork from the tree, the extractor pushes the handle of the axe into the rulers. A good extractor needs to use a firm but precise touch in order to free a large amount of cork without damaging the product or tree. These freed portions of the cork are called planks.
The planks are usually carried off by hand since cork forests are rarely accessible to vehicles. The cork is stacked in piles in the forest or in yards at a factory and traditionally left to dry, after which it can be loaded onto a truck and shipped to a processor. Cork’s elasticity combined with its near-impermeability makes it suitable as a material for bottle stoppers, especially for wine bottles. Cork is an excellent gasket material.
Some carburetor float bowl gaskets are made of cork, for example. Cork is also an essential element in the production of badminton shuttlecocks. Cork’s bubble-form structure and natural fire retardant make it suitable for acoustic and thermal insulation in house walls, floors, ceilings, and facades. The by-product of more lucrative stopper production, corkboard is gaining popularity as a non-allergenic, easy-to-handle and safe alternative to petrochemical-based insulation products.
Sheets of cork, also often the by-product of stopper production, are used to make bulletin boards as well as floor and wall tiles. Granules of cork can also be mixed into concrete. The composites made by mixing cork granules and cement have lower thermal conductivity, lower density, and good energy absorption. As late as the mid-17th century, French vintners did not use cork stoppers, using instead oil-soaked rags stuffed into the necks of bottles. 20 billion bottles of wine produced each year. Because of the cellular structure of cork, it is easily compressed upon insertion into a bottle and will expand to form a tight seal. The interior diameter of the neck of glass bottles tends to be inconsistent, making this ability to seal through variable contraction and expansion an important attribute.
