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News Archive 2017

October 2017

Using Lasers to improve the modification of wood

Fibre 7 UK Ltd, Millennium Lasers Ltd, Bangor University and Coventry University received £1.2 million of co-funding from the UK's innovation agency Innovate UK in September 2017. The consortium brings together laser and wood specialists to improve permeability and processing of timbers during resin treatment. Treatment using resin is one of a growing platform of wood modification technologies which can alter the properties and service life of timber for use in demanding environments or to enhance aesthetics.

Patterns of micro-incisions will be made in the faces of wood prior to treatment to improve penetration of resin into wood pieces. This will enable a greater range of timber species to be modified, including those growing in the UK. Since lasers are able to 'drill fine holes' then with the appropriate pattern of incisions it is believed that an even distribution of fluid can be achieved to considerable depths.

Andy Pitman, Fibre 7's Technical Director believes 'this laser-drilling offers significant benefits for our wood treatment process increasing the range of timbers we can employ and the section sizes we can modify.' He added 'The technology offers others needing to impregnate timbers with fluids such as wood preservatives an additional tool, since far less damage will be caused using lasers compared with mechanical incising meaning it can be used on joinery timbers'. The project runs through to December 2019.

September 2017

MDF Recovery Ltd shortlisted for Innovation Award 2017

MDF Recovery's MD Craig Bartlett and BC Director Rob Elias are attending the Timber Trade Journals awards in London on the 29th of September 2017. Craig's company is short listed in the Timber Innovation category for Innovative Product Development which is sponsored by Timber Expo and TRADA.

MDF Recovery works closely with the Centre to develop a range of products that utilise the recycled MDF fibre. "Through an InnovateUK funded project we helped Craig dry and resinate fibre using our pilot scale MDF line. This work really showed how we can use recycled fibres to make new products. The project demonstrated that closed loop recycling is really possible so I hope he stands a chance of winning" explained Rob. MDF Recovery is up against three other nominees, Actis Insulation, Chalkbarn Natural Products and Simonin SAS so we will keep our fingers crossed for success.

August 2017

BC scientists contribute to new book on the Performance of Bio-based Building Materials

A new book on the performance of bio-based materials has been published recently. Originating out of the COST action FP1303 Performance of Bio-based Building Materials, it brings together the state of the art on the topic. Edited by Dennis Jones and Christian Brischke, the book features contributions from over 60 top researchers from across Europe, and includes significant input from scientists in the BioComposites Centre.

Chapters include:

Wood as a material
Nonwood materials
Protection of bio-based materials
Performance of bio-based materials
Performance of buildings
Test methods for bio-based materials
Modelling
Environmental assessment of bio-based materials

Four of these chapters include contributions from BC staff, Dr Simon Curling and Dr Graham Ormondroyd, with additional contributions by BC PhD students Elie Mansour and Bronia Stefanowski. Dr Curling also acted as chapter lead for the Test methods for bio-based materials chapter.

The book is available from Elsevier Publishing.

June 2017

BREAD4PLA project wins EU award

BREAD4PLA, a green science and technology project in which Bangor University's research played a significant role, has been awarded one of the two "Green Awards" as one of the best LIFE Environment Projects of the last 25 years. Read more

April 2017

BC host training school organised for COST Action FP 1407: Modwoodlife

The BioComposites Centre recently hosted 15 Phd students and early career researchers from across Europe at a training school organised for COST Action FP 1407: Modwoodlife. The overarching themes of the school were to discuss how Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) can be used with modified wood, and how the properties of modified wood can be characterised and tested. Following an introduction to Bangor from Dr Graham Ormondroyd of BC there was a brief introduction session where all participants talked about their own work background. Then Professor Callum Hill of NIBIO and Campbell Skinner of BC gave the students a thorough grounding into LCA of wood modification via presentations and discussion groups.

During the school Dr Morwenna Spear and Dr Simon Curling, both from BC, led practical sessions covering both thermal and acetylation treatments of woods. These treated samples were then further characterised in later experimental sessions, including investigating water uptake mechanisms and moisture vapour sorption. Both are key characteristics when looking at performance of the materials.

The training school was also very fortunate to have two trainers from CNR-Ivalsa in Italy, Dr Anna Sandak and Dr Jakub Sandak, who led some very interesting discussions on service life and the characterisation of the aesthetics of materials. Their innovative approach in investigating the “human factor” in the use of materials was an exciting addition to the training school. Modelling, both in predicting service life and durability, and in assisting architects to predict the appearance of timber facades over time, is an essential area, in which great progress has been made in recent years.

There was also a chance to showcase previous projects at BC and Bangor with a trip out to the recent Saltcote building at Halen Mon. The building features Welsh grown larch cladding. Over all it was a busy but very worthwhile three days where the students and trainers alike got to learn about and appreciate new methods and techniques for use with assessing modified wood.

March 2017

BC strongly involved in research on the performance of Biobased materials in buildings

The BioComposites Centre had a strong representation at the recent COST Action FP1303 (http://www.costfp1303.com/en/Sidor/default.aspx) Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria; with 5 of the papers and 2 of the posters presented featuring input from BC scientists.

The conference had a packed program of high quality research from both established and early career researchers and students from across Europe and was a clear example of the value of collaboration under the COST program. Dr Simon Curling presented a paper on the effects on product durability that combining different biobased materials can have within a constructed wall. Dr Curling later presented a poster detailing the work led by Drs Robert Elias and Graham Ormondroyd, that BC has been carrying out on recycling of MDF with the innovative British company MDF Recovery (http://www.mdfrecovery.co.uk/).

Dr Morwenna Spear gave a thought provoking presentation on using plant structure as a template and inspiration for design of materials and structures. This work forms part of the Welsh National Research Network for Low Carbon Energy and the Environment (NRN-LCEE) Plants and Architecture Cluster (http://www.nrn-lcee.ac.uk/plants-architecture/cluster) that BC are an integral part of, alongside Aberystwyth and Cardiff Universities. Dr Spear also presented a poster giving details of some of the work carried out by a visiting Romanian researcher, Rasia Teciu, during her visit to BC. This was on innovative lay-ups of timber to analyse stresses in the glue bond using cyclic conditions with and without surface coatings.

Dr Athanasios Dimitriou, a Knowledge Transfer Partnership Fellow (currently working with Clifford Jones Timber (http://www.cjtimber.com) in Ruthin and the BioComposites Centre), presented a paper on his work carried out on a Short Term Scientific Mission (STSM) at CNR-IVALSA in Italy (http://www.ivalsa.cnr.it/en). His work was on surface characterisation of spruce wood from a Pan-European round robin test coordinated by Dr Jakub Sandak in CNR-IVALSA. The analysis of FTIR spectra under the guidance of Dr Dimitriou’s host in Italy, Dr Jakub Sandak, is a good example of the benefits of collaborating and knowledge sharing under COST funded short term scientific missions, boosting the understanding of weathering and its regional trends within Europe. This presentation was followed by a second paper on the topic by Dr Sandak, introducing a modelling method for timber weathering built on this valuable dataset.

Finally, a presentation on “Emissions from biobased materials” was given by Dr Lothar Clauder from Eberswalde University in Germany. Dr Clauder visited BC on another STSM to work with Dr Graham Ormondroyd and Mr Elie Mansour and utilise the microchamber for VOC measurements. Dr Clauder’s work investigated the extent of emissions from materials used in cabinets intended to display sensitive museum artefacts.
The conference was a great success with the presence of BC staff demonstrating their in-depth knowledge of the wide-ranging subject area of bio-based materials. This is a small portion of the expertise that BC staff have in this important research area.

February 2017

Talking about wool with the University of the Third Age

On Thursday 2nd February, Dr Simon Curling gave a presentation to the University of the Third Age in Bangor. The University of the Third Age is an organisation for retired and semi retired members of the community.

Dr Curling spoke about some of the exciting developments in the use of wool for insulation and packaging systems, including a summary of some of the work carried out by BC in this area. The audience of nearly 100 local people were keen to ask many pertinent questions on the subject and to examine wool samples provided; the alpaca wool sample was a clear favourite due to its softness!

This was an excellent opportunity to get out of the lab and explain the science and recent developments with a knowledgeable audience, and was enjoyable as well!

January 2017

World first as recycling of MDF waste moves a step closer

The world's first ever technology to recycle MDF waste has moved a step closer to reality. MDF Recovery has successfully concluded proof of concept trials to develop a commercially viable process to recover wood fibre from waste MDF. It is the culmination of more than six years' research and development to create a technology which will offer the first alternative to the use of landfill or burning to dispose of MDF. Britain, alone, disposes around 350,000 tonnes of MDF each year.

MDF fibres The solution generates a new raw material source for the wood/natural fibre industry that reduces the demand on standing forests. The recovered fibre is of the same high quality as virgin wood fibre and provides feedstock to the manufacturers of MDF board, insulation products and horticultural growing products.

Co-founder and Managing Director Craig Bartlett is now ready to take the proprietary technology to the commercial market. Craig, who established MDF Recovery in 2009, said: “We have already begun discussions with a number of leading companies and organisations operating in the MDF production and waste industries and look forward to progressing these during the early part of 2017. The recycling process we have developed is a genuine world first. There is no other environmentally friendly alternative to the use of landfill or burning to dispose of MDF waste. Our technology can be retro-fitted or designed into new plants and offers a robust solution for reworking waste and increasing the yield at the MDF manufacturing facility. Zero waste production is now a real possibility. The financial payback is dependent on the size of MDF plant but in larger plants is expected within 18 months. The technology can also process industrial and commercial forms of MDF waste, allowing manufacturers to take back material from their customers – a so called ‘closed loop’ solution.”

This has been particularly attractive to the retail sector which utilises significant amounts of MDF in shop fittings. MDF – medium density fibreboard – was first devised in the 1970s and today more than 50million tons are produced globally every year, servicing the furniture, construction and DIY markets. Prominent markets outside of the UK include Continental Europe, USA, Russia, Brazil and China. Demand is increasing in Eastern Europe and Asia. It is estimated that between 30,000 and 60,000 tons of MDF waste could be recycled by MDF Recovery each year in the UK and almost 3million tons globally.

Before establishing MDF Recovery with co-founder Jim New, Craig worked as Head of Research & Consultancy at the UK Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA), developing a wide range of technological solutions in partnership with industry and academia.

MDF Recovery has set up an advisory panel to help it commercialise the company’s technology. The panel includes Geoff Rhodes, widely recognised for his pioneering work in the timber industry, having driven the introduction of Medite MDF from the US into Britain before spending most of his career expanding the use of MDF in the UK and internationally. He is a former President of the Timber Trade Federation (TTF), the European Association of MDF Manufacturers (EMB) and the Fibre Building Board Federation (FIDOR).

Other advisory panel members include Dr Knut Kappenberg, Dr Rob Elias and Ray Howard.

Knut Kappenberg has over 20 years’ experience within R&D, innovation management and technology transfer roles including seven years as Global R&D Manager at Sonae Industria, one of the largest global manufacturers of wood-based panel products.

Rob Elias is the Director of the BioComposites Centre (BC) at Bangor University. The Centre was established in 1989 and is focussed on the translation of applied science into commercial opportunity. It has been at the forefront of research, development and the commercial application of bio-based alternatives to synthetic materials in manufacturing and industry. He is also the chair of the International Panel Products Symposium.

Ray Howard is a businessman with over 40 years’ experience, mainly within manufacturing and related sectors including MDF. He has managed companies with turnovers ranging from £10m to £150m and is a specialist in strategic growth and business transformation.

The business has to date been funded via a mix of UK and Welsh Government, Angel Investor and Industrial funding.

BC working with WRAP Cymru to provide access to free research

BC is delighted to announce that it is working on an 18 month project with WRAP Cymru to support their Sustainable Resource Management Programme. Eligible Welsh companies will be able to access funding allowing them to use our services free of charge in order to improve their sustainability credentials.

The intention of WRAP Cymru’s Sustainable Resource Management Programme is to help deliver the Circular Economy in Wales by increasing recycling rates, reducing waste going to land fill and encouraging the use of recycled materials in manufacturing. So if you want to know what to do with your waste, its chemical composition, recycling potential or how you could substitute an existing raw material with a ‘recycled’ one this could be the ideal opportunity for you.

BC has a long track record of developing products from 'recycled' materials including electrical items, wood, packaging, textiles, construction waste, agricultural by-products, food waste and chemicals etc. Through this WRAP Cymru programme your company can access that expertise. For initial discussions about what BC can offer, please contact Dr Graham Ormondroyd. More information can also be found here.