OptiDaemm


Adaptation of the production parameters for wood fibre insulating materials to a changed wood species composition to optimise the product properties


Conversion of forests to adapt them to climate change is changing the availability of raw materials for the wood-based industry. The supply of spruce wood will be increasingly limited in the future and the prices for spruce wood will rise. Larch, oak and beech, on the other hand, will gain in cultivation area. However, the use of wood species used as an alternative to spruce leads to problems in the production process and to a loss of board strength in the industrial production of wood fibre insulation materials. In the case of wood species rich in extractives, this may be due, among other things, to poorer bonding. The aim of this research project is to examine the causes for strength losses of wood fibre insulation boards when using "alternative" woods compared to the use of spruce wood. Based on this, the production process of wood fibre insulation boards, which is optimised for the use of spruce, is to be adapted to the alternative wood species. One focus is on the influence of the wood species on commonly used isocyanate-based binders (pMDI, PU). A more detailed knowledge would possibly allow binder manufacturers to adapt adhesive formulations to the wood species used. The insulating materials produced should have similar physical-mechanical properties as wood fibre insulation boards made of spruce fibres. This would broaden the raw material base of wood fibre insulating materials and enable manufacturers to react to the changes resulting from forest restructuring. As a result, their supply of suitable raw materials will be guaranteed, and the competitiveness of wood fibre insulation materials compared to non-sustainably produced insulation materials will be maintained or increased in the long term.