Wood & Furniture

In the energetic utilisation of used wood according to the Federal Law of Immission Protection as well as in the substantial utilisation through the particle board industry an assured exclusion of wood treated with wood preservatives is requested. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research – WKI existing methods for the semiquantative proof of different inorganic substances in wood preservatives were verified by means of colour reaction. Colour tests for chromium, copper and fluorides as single proof and a screening test for different heavy metals were optimised regarding sensitivity, handling and storage periods of the reagents.

A continuously operating pilot system with a decomposition capacity of 8,000 tons/year was installed. Compared to a discontinuous process, this system can save energy and completely contain the gaseous emissions that are generated. Expand…

Within the scope of this project not only financial and timber resources will be saved but also hazardous environmental impacts will be avoided. This ecologically and economically very important and forward-looking venture aims at installing a continuously working steam decomposition machine for used wooden materials. The development of this process also leads to advantages referring to energy savings.

In a furniture factory bedroom furniture from genuine wood and genuine wood veneers are coated with solvent-reduced lacquer systems in a newly established flexible lacquering plant. The alloying procedure consists of a combination of machinery and control device, lacquer technology and qualified service personnel. The quantity of lacquer and as a consequence the lacquer waste could be decreased by approx. 70% in each case. By the use of water lacquers and/or low-solvent lacquers the solvent emission reduced by more than 80%. Expand…

Construction of a new type of heating system with a vertical cyclone for the use of coated and uncoated residues of chipboards and solid wooden chips in a heating boiler with a performance of 0,8 megawatt. Usage of an electric filter system after the heating system. Controlling by a computer system with inclusion of relevant measurement of the fire and emissions. After instruction and putting into operation running of extensive measurements of the emissons according to the instructions of the Federal Environmental Agency. The emissionvalues are falling short of the limits of the TA-Luft (further information in German). Expand…

The goal of the investigations at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research - WKI is to adjust the negative characteristics of starch-glue resins by the favourable characteristics of tannin (high reactivity, moisture-proof glueing). During the production of chip boards with moisture-proof glueing (quality V100) up to 20 % of the tannin can be replaced by starch. With chip boards of the quality V20 the proportion of hydrolytically degraded starch can even be increased to 40 %. Certain tannin-starch binder systems (20 % of the tannin is replaced by starch) can be used for the manufacture of MDF for general purposes for the use in the drying range.

Using the specially designed knife ring chipper, nicked pieces and relatively thin round pieces of wood can be chipped into strands from oriented strand boards (OSB). Experiments have shown that the mechanical and hygric properties of OSB are no different for OSB made from these strands and those with typical strands. Expand…

The conventional solvents employed in process engineering often present a potential ecological hazard. Their reclamation entails high technical complexity. The researchers on this project examine supercritical fluids as an alternative to conventional solvents. Besides the beneficial ecological effects, the results display high application potential. Expand…

Table tops, exhibition stands, dividing walls and cupboards can be made with the light but robust sandwich material which was newly developed from vegetable resources. The material can be recycled, and its manufacture requires little energy.