Portrait of the NRP 66 "Resource Wood"

Portrait of the National Research Programme (NRP 66)

Resource Wood

Contents

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Editorial Resource wood: A plea for using it intelligently

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Overview The raw material wood: Immensely versatile but often unrecognised

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Research NRP 66 has a broad remit

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Knowledge and technology transfer Dialogue and networking are success factors

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Glossary Key terms

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Information

www.nrp66.ch

What is an NRP? The National Research Programmes (NRP) contribute scientifically substantiated solutions to urgent problems of national significance.

They are approved by the Federal Council, last from 4 to 5 years and are funded with CHF 5 to 20 million. The NRPs are problem-oriented; inter- and transdisciplinary; dedicated to achieving a defined, overall goal through co-ordination of individual research projects and groups and focused on the knowledge transfer of the results.

Editorial

Resource wood: A plea for using it intelligently Wood accounts for around ninety percent of biomass worldwide and as we all know it keeps re-growing without much effort on the part of humanity. This alone should be reason enough to re-assess with an open mind the careless way in which we deal with wood in this country and elsewhere.

Everyone talks about resource scarcity, the end of the oil age, global warming and greenhouse gases as the great culprits. What is often forgotten in these discussions is that wood, a renewable resource with great capacities for storing carbon dioxide, can play a key role in global resource supplies and climate politics, if only it were used intelligently.

But what do we mean by intelligent use? It is too early to give a comprehensive answer to this question and it will probably never be simple. It is, however, necessary to shake up the common notion that wood is best used for beams and planks or otherwise for firewood.

Module names such as “Chemicals”, ”Energy”, ”Components” and ”Structures and Buildings” show clearly that our programme aims at a broad and holistic understanding of wood as a resource.

The idea is that new approaches and technologies will lead to a more varied and, most of all, more efficient use of wood. As a consequence, we expect more competition between the various uses.

Dr. Martin Riediker

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Editorial

Forest and timber, forestry and timber industry constitute a rather narrow field of vision. For this reason, NRP 66 is addressing the complete life-cycle of wood, market mechanisms as well as the problem of insufficient raw wood availability.

The aim is to improve the management of wood as a resource across its life cycle— from availability and use to recycling and disposal. Ecological, economical and social aspects will have to be respected and balanced in the case of conflicting interests.

If the use of wood is to change, business and politics will have to contribute in line with research. There is a real chance of improving wood-based value addition and the competitiveness of 2

the forestry sector. Success will depend on whether the necessary innovation can be triggered in business and on the creation of a framework supportive of sustainable wood provisioning.

NRP 66 places great importance on the implementation of solutions elaborated by scientists as this is the only way to ensure value addition. In the course of the programme, researchers and the Swiss National Science Foundation will work closely with the Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI to turn promising research projects into CTI projects.

The members of the Steering Committee of NRP 66 look forward to supporting scientists in their work and

to engaging in a dialogue with decisionmakers in politics and business on improving the use of wood. I will personally engage in supporting technology transfers between research and industry so that as many research results as possible establish themselves in the market. I would like to thank everyone working towards the success of NRP 66.

Dr. Martin Riediker President of the NRP 66 Steering Committee

Overview

The raw material wood: Immensely versatile but often unrecognised Wood was already used in prehistoric times as a raw material for generating heat and light. Thanks to its robustness and the variety of uses to which it could be put, wood has played a central role in mankind’s development since early antiquity. Today, scarcity of resources and the need to protect the climate are forcing us to use wood more intelligently than ever before as a renewable raw material.

The need to combat greenhouse gases and the scarcity of fossil resources has obliged the worlds of politics, commerce and science to focus on renewable raw materials such as wood. Today, in addition to reducing consumption, the increased and more efficient use of renewable resources is considered to be a vital pre-condition for economic growth and global supply security.

Throughout the world, wood is one of the most significant renewable raw materials capable of storing large quantities of carbon dioxide. Like other European countries, Switzerland possesses very large reserves of wood and, despite the wide variety of uses to which it can be put, its forests are too old and underutilised. The potential for a wider use of wood is certainly there in Switzerland.

However, more precisely targeted efforts are needed in order to direct more wood of the right quality to be used for the most sustainable purposes.

Wood is a multifunctional material and its potential as a substitute in applications so far dominated by oil and other non-renewable resources is frequently unrecognised. Wood can, for example, serve as the raw material for 3

Overview

basic chemicals, for new synthetic materials and components and for a variety of pioneering (construction) materials. Furthermore, new nanotechnology and macrotechnology discoveries are opening up application areas hitherto closed to wood. Wood also plays an important role as a substitute for fossil fuels.

Energy wood is mainly used in solid form (firewood, pellets, etc.); in future, wherever possible, it will be increasingly used as a gaseous or liquid source of energy, thanks to appropriate conversion processes.

“Multiple processes” or “cascade use” will in future be the buzzwords for recovering useable materials and/or energy from wood. The aim of all these efforts will be to exploit the substitution potential of wood to the maximum by

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means of appropriate processes and applications. In particular, both commerce and society as a whole should from now on be able to make better sequential use of wood (first as a material, then as a source of energy). The challenge is to reshape the traditional wood utilisation chain more efficiently and to develop new applications and ways of converting wood. An industrial base capable of generating greater added value needs to be created, together with the capacity to export the relevant products and the acquired expertise.

What is needed today from the realms of politics and science is a holistic consideration of the resource wood.

Wood has great and yet frequently unrecognised potential as a substitute for non-renewable resources.

This precisely is the starting point for the National Research Programme “Resource Wood” (NRP 66). Scientists from a variety of Swiss research institutes, working on interdisciplinary projects, are undertaking research over a fiveyear period into wood as a raw material, from the molecular level (fibre, fibrils) to the macroscopic scale (large structures).

The aim is to lay the foundations in terms of scientific and materials engineering for the wider use of wood, development of competitive technologies and improvement of the availability of resources in Switzerland.

What is needed today from the realms of politics and science is a holistic consideration of the resource wood, taking all of the various components, specifics and potential for use into account, and including the entire materials cycle of this highly promising raw material. In this regard, NRP 66 is very similar to the European Union’s research activity and resource strategies, which are also aimed at raising the profile of the wood-based value chain.

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Research

NRP 66 has a broad remit NRP 66 has total funding of CHF 18 million, and covers a total of 30 research projects.

These reflect the broad spectrum of new approaches to the use of wood in the chemical industry, in materials engineering and in the construction and energy sectors. Topics common to all the projects are research into the availability of raw wood and analysis of wood-based material flows with a view to life cycle optimisation.

The objective of NRP 66 is for wood to be used in an intelligent way over its entire lifecycle. In particular, the programme aims to achieve: • a broader understanding of woodbased material flows, improvements to wood supplies and decision-making aids for authorities and for the forestry and timber industries; • new knowledge and technologies for using wood as a basic component in 6

chemical products and for manufacturing new composite materials; • further technical advances in the generation of power from wood and in using it as a material for structures and buildings; • competitiveness through increased added value in wood-based industries, enhanced skills and research capacities in Switzerland, and a new impetus for commercial innovation.

M1: Economic aspects / Provisioning

M2: Chemicals

M3: Energy

M4: Components

M5: Structures and Buildings

M6: Life-cycle assessment Modules of NRP 66

NRP 66 focuses on six main areas of research that cover all major aspects of the wood-based value chain. Two of the thematic modules (M1 and M6) are concerned with improving raw wood provisioning and with the sustainability of materials cycle management systems.

Research work in the four other modules (M2 to M5) concentrates on the potential use of wood in the production of basic chemicals, for energy, for manufacturing innovative components and for structures and buildings.

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Research

NRP 66 aims to reinforce the added value and competitiveness Switzerland can gain from wood.

NRP 66 “Resource Wood�, through its various platforms and research communities, is firmly embedded within the international research landscape and its work is co-ordinated with current EU research activity. At the same time, NRP 66 recognises the special characteristics of the Swiss forestry and timber industries and other domestic economic parameters. The knowledge transfer task will involve informing key players from the worlds of politics, administration and commerce about the findings of NRP 66 and helping them to create favourable conditions for the best possible sustainable use of wood within their areas of responsibility.

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An overview of the 30 projects in NRP 66 Further details of these research projects can be found at www.nfp66.ch

2.2 Concurrent transformation of wood into commodity chemicals Prof. Paul Dyson, EPF Lausanne 2.3 Combined production of fuels and chemicals from wood Prof. Philipp Rudolf von Rohr, ETH Zurich

Module 1: Raw wood—supply, policies and processes of provisioning 2.4 Development of artificial proteins for a better chemical use 1.1 MOBSTRAT: Timber mobilisation strategies for Swiss forests Dr. Peter Brang, Swiss Federal Institute WSL, Birmensdorf 1.2 An economic analysis of Swiss wood markets Dr. Roland Olschewski, Swiss Federal Institute WSL, Birmensdorf 1.3 Understanding the wood market: between provisioning and

of wood Prof. Florian Seebeck, University of Basel 2.5 One-stage fermentation of wood into ethanol in

a membrane biofilm reactor Dr. Michael Hans-Peter Studer, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Zollikofen

multi-functionality Prof. Milad Zarin-Nejadan, University of Neuchâtel

2.6 Free radicals in lignin as the key to “green” chemicals Dr. Frédéric Vogel, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen

Module 2: Wood as a raw material for useful chemical substances 2.1 Breakdown of lignin for the production of aromatic compounds Prof. Philippe Corvini, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Muttenz 9

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Module 3: Wood as a source of energy

Module 4: Wood as a material for components

3.1 Optimised grate furnaces for wood fuels Prof. Thomas Nussbaumer, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

4.1 Wood and engineered wood products with improved properties

3.2 Production of ultra-pure hydrogen from wood Prof. Christoph Müller, ETH Zurich

4.2 Nanotechnology in the service of wood preservation Prof. Alke Fink, University of Fribourg

3.3 Hot gas cleaning for highly efficient and economical energy

4.3 New processing methods for cellulose nanocomposites Prof. Christoph Weder, University of Fribourg

production from wood

for structures Prof. Ingo Burgert, ETH Zurich

Dr. Serge Biollaz, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen 3.4 Synthetic natural gas from wood—How can the synthesis

be optimised?

4.4 Cellulose nanofibrils in wood coatings Dr. Tanja Zimmermann, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), Dübendorf

Dr. Tilman J. Schildhauer, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen 4.5 Wood surface functionalisation using photoinitiators Prof. Hansjörg Grützmacher, ETH Zurich 4.6 Natural UV protection of wood surfaces through cellulose fibres Dr. Thomas Volkmer, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Biel

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4.7 Extraction of tannins from the bark of local conifers Dr. Frédéric Pichelin, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Biel 4.8 Adhesive bonding in structural elements made of hardwood Prof. Peter Niemz, ETH Zurich 4.9 Ultra-light bio-based particleboard with a foam core Dr. Heiko Thoemen, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Biel

5.4 Earthquake resistant wood structures for multi-storey buildings Dr. René Steiger, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), Dübendorf 5.5 Robot-assisted assembly of complex timber structures Prof. Matthias Kohler, ETH Zurich 5.6 Wood and wood-based concrete: The building material of

the future?

Module 5: Wood-based structures and buildings 5.1 Dimensioning adhesively bonded timber joints Prof. Till Vallée, College of Engineering and Architecture, Fribourg

Prof. Daia Zwicky, College of Engineering and Architecture, Fribourg

Module 6: Life-cycle assessment of wood-based material flows 6.1 Wood2CHem: A computer-aided platform for developing

5.2 Innovative and reliable structures made of beech wood Prof. Andrea Frangi, ETH Zurich 5.3 Acoustically optimised floor system made of hardwood Dr. Lubosˇ Krajcˇi, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), Dübendorf

bio-refinery concepts Prof. François Maréchal, EPF Lausanne 6.2 Ecological use of wood resources in Switzerland Prof. Stefanie Hellweg, ETH Zurich

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Research

Module 1: Raw wood—supply, policies and processes of provisioning Reliable information about the availability and suitability of wood resources is important for many NRP 66 research areas. The intensive and sustainable use of wood relies on a fully functioning, economical supply of wood.

How to improve the availability and provisioning of raw wood of the required type and quality in Switzerland is the question considered in this overarching module. The research results should motivate the relevant players to develop new provisioning policies to ensure a more efficient supply of wood and strengthen the competitiveness of the timber industry.

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All three projects aim for an improved understanding of Swiss wood markets through complementary approaches that add scientific value.

Project 1.1: MOBSTRAT: Timber mobilisation strategies for Swiss forests There are approximately 400 million cubic metres of wood in Swiss forests, of which around five million cubic metres are used annually. How can we increase the use of wood? What will it cost and what will it bring? In the project of Peter Brang (Swiss Federal Institute WSL), researchers from the natural and the social sciences are working together with representatives of the timber industry to find ways to increase the use of wood. Special attention will be paid to reducing the high timber supplies without

jeopardising important values such as biodiversity or protection against natural hazards.

Project 1.2: An economic analysis of Swiss wood markets Given the competition between different uses of wood, the crucial question is in what circumstances and for whom will it actually be available. The research team led by Roland Olschewski (Swiss Federal Institute WSL) is studying the largely unresearched behaviour of actors in the forestry sector and capturing it in an agent-based model along with the structure of the wood market in various case study regions. This will make it possible to identify market developments at an early stage and assess incentive schemes aimed at improving the availability and use of wood.

Project 1.3: Understanding the wood market: between provisioning and multi-functionality What are the principal factors that determine the functioning and performance of the wood market? What are the significance and the value of the various public services provided by the forest?

By analysing these questions, the researchers attempt to develop new approaches towards a better functioning of the wood market. The project led by Milad ZarinNejadan (University of Neuch창tel) analyses the supply and demand aspects of the wood market as a whole and in detail; this is done both theoretically and empirically using suitable statistical and econometric methods.

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Research

Module 2: Wood as a raw material for useful chemical substances In future, particular importance will be attached to converting waste and recycled wood into high-grade components, for instance for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, or for producing synthetic materials.

The research projects in this module are concerned with new technologies for using wood as a basic component in chemical products and with developing new applications for raw wood substances such as fibres and lignin derivatives. The central focus of this research work is on innovative processes for producing cellulose nanofibrils, extracting tannins, using biochemical methods to break wood down and on research into the treatment of lignin during the oxidation process.

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Project 2.1: Breakdown of lignin for the production of aromatic compounds

Project 2.2: Concurrent transformation of wood into commodity chemicals

Lignin, which together with cellulose is the main ingredient of woody plant tissue, offers great potential for the production of valuable chemicals. Due to the structural properties of lignin, the combination of chemical and biological transformation processes promises greater success than the processes applied so far. The research team of Philippe Corvini (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland) tests different combinations of processes in order to maximise the yield of useful products.

Presently, very few compounds of commercial interest are directly accessible from woody biomass using non-fermentive processes. The research team of Paul Dyson (EPF Lausanne) will develop highly effective nanocatalysts and multifunctional catalytic systems. Their project will potentially lead to new efficient routes that will be scaled-up to a pilot plant.

Project 2.3: Combined production of fuels and chemicals from wood Biofuels from wood have economic and ecological advantages as compared to fuels from corn starch and sugar cane.

However, it is much more difficult to transform wood into biofuels as its com-

ponents—cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin—are strongly interwoven. The research team of Philipp Rudolf von Rohr (ETH Zurich) is now searching for new ways of pre-treating wood with the aim of breaking up its structure. In the approach chosen, the researchers combine hot water treatment with so-called radical scavengers.

Project 2.4: Development of artificial proteins for a better chemical use of wood Wood is not easily biodegradable because its elements, the lignin polymers, are chemically very stable and only their surface is accessible to enzymes. How do lignin degrading enzymes recognise the surface of a substrate? How does the behaviour of these enzymes change when they accumulate on the surface of a substrate? Can lignin-recognising 15

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protein domains help these enzymes to be more active? In order to answer these questions, the research team of Florian Seebeck (University of Basel) will construct different artificial proteins and protein complexes and characterise their lignin degrading activity.

Project 2.5: One-stage fermentation of wood into ethanol in a membrane biofilm reactor This project focuses on procedural improvements for the production of bio-ethanol from wood, which serves as an alternative to fossil fuels. The research group of Michael Studer (Bern University of Applied Sciences) will try to simplify the production of ethanol out of wood with the help of a special reactor and suitable microorganisms. The procedure

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has the potential to produce ethanol sustainably, efficiently and decentrally in a forested or agricultural environment with short transport routes for the required biomass.

Project 2.6: Free radicals in lignin as the key to “green” chemicals In this project, Frédéric Vogel (Paul Scherrer Institute) and his colleagues retrieve lignin from beech, spruce, poplar and pine using recognised chemical methods and analyse its composition, structure and chemical properties, with special regard to free radicals. Should it be possible to influence the type and concentration of these highly chemically active molecules, this could lead to new procedures for making “green” chemicals.

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Research

Module 3: Wood as a source of energy There is great interest today in further developing technologies, process chains and systems in order to convert lowquality, waste and recycled wood into heat, electricity or even into fuel. The important thing is to maximise efficiency, releasing as few pollutants as possible and providing a substitute for as much fossil fuel as possible.

The research projects in this module close specific gaps in “wood-related� energy research. They are intended to help overcome technical barriers to the sustainable use of wood as a source of energy. They can also open up new avenues for the combined use of different types of energy and for identifying wood-based supply chains that offer the highest quality energy.

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Project 3.1: Optimised grate furnaces for wood fuels In this project, the research team of Thomas Nussbaumer (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts) and their industry partner study options for optimising grate furnaces for wood fuels.

For this purpose, they combine a sectoral moving grate with a modular after-burning zone. Improving grate furnace technology allows also for low-quality ranges of biogenous waste products to be used with low pollutant emissions. This increases the share of renewable energies in the overall energy consumption.

Project 3.2: Production of ultra-pure hydrogen from wood Hydrogen as a source of energy could mitigate the effects of climate change as it releases water instead of carbon dioxide

when it “burns”. However, this can only be achieved if hydrogen is produced efficiently and sustainably, i. e. from renewable resources. The project of Christoph Müller (ETH Zurich) focuses on an innovative process for the production of ultra-pure hydrogen from wood. The process is based on the redox reactions of iron oxide and could contribute towards reducing the Swiss transport and electricity sector’s dependence on carbon-based sources of energy.

Project 3.3: Hot gas cleaning for highly efficient and economical energy production from wood Wood gas results from the gasification of ligneous biomass. Before converting it into a synthetic natural gas (bio-SNG), impurities such as sulphur, chlorine and alkalis need to be removed. The research project of Serge Biollaz (Paul Scherrer

Institute) aims at developing hot gas cleaning as a more efficient alternative to the cold gas cleaning applied up to date.

The insights expected from the experiments should serve as a basis for computer models which upscale the experimental data for industrial plants.

and his colleagues examine how the chemical reactions, the mass transfer and the fluid dynamics in fluidised bed reactors mutually influence each other.

Project 3.4: Synthetic natural gas from wood— How can the synthesis be optimised?

In view of the growing demand for electricity and fuel, the production of bio natural gas as a fuel and combustible made of ligneous biomass presents an interesting alternative to the use (combustion) of biomass purely as a source of energy. From the combustible wood gas gained from the gasification of wood, a synthetic natural gas (bio-SNG) is made via fluid bed methanation. Tilman Schildhauer (Paul Scherrer Institute) 19

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Module 4: Wood as a material for components

Project 4.1: Wood and engineered wood products with improved properties for structures

High hopes are placed on the development of a new generation of wood components that have special material properties and open up avenues for attractive manufacturing technologies.

The research projects in this module point towards the many opportunities for developing new types of composite materials and hitherto unknown combinations of wood with other materials.

For this new generation of wood components, researchers are examining suitable adhesive bonding, joining, preservation and modification processes, leading to specific functional and thus value-enhancing properties, but which still meet the requirements for cascade use.

Wood and engineered wood have excellent properties but are not very reliable.

Wood swells and shrinks, is often only moderately durable and always combustible. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the fibres have too wide a spread, which makes it difficult to use them in fibre composites. Ingo Burgert (ETH Zurich) and his team apply polymer chemistry and nanotechnology procedures in order to change cell walls and fibre surfaces, thus improving the mechanical properties of wood as a building material and as an input to manufacturing.

Project 4.2: Nanotechnology in the service of wood preservation

Project 4.3: New processing methods for cellulose nanocomposites

In order to estimate the potential of nanotechnology for wood protection, Alke Fink (University of Fribourg) and her research team are systematically studying how ultra-small particles with clearly defined size and surface may affect wood. In addition, nanotoxicologists will assess to what extent wood treated with nanoparticles can be a health hazard for humans. The insights gained could contribute to a wider use of nanotechnology-based wood protection methods in the building sector.

Cellulose nanofibres produced from plastics and wood have very useful mechanical properties such as tensile strength. However, the known processes for producing such materials cannot be properly exploited industrially. The research project by Christoph Weder (University of Fribourg) therefore aims to develop new, scalable production methods for cellulose nanocomposites.

Project 4.4: Cellulose nanofibrils in wood coatings Wood coatings used in the exteriors of buildings must be sufficiently weatherproof and optically pleasing. Can cellulose nanofibrils—long, very thin fibres isolated from cellulose—improve the mechanical properties of the coating?

Can they take on the role of a carrier substance for selected agents? The aim of this project by Tanja Zimmermann (EMPA) is to find answers to these questions.

Project 4.5: Wood surface functionalisation using photoinitiators Many processes for modern, high-value applications of solid wood and wood particles—such as adhesive bonding, coating or compounding—depend on a defined and elevated chemical reactivity or functionality of the involved surfaces.

Hansjörg Grützmacher (ETH Zurich) and his team use photoinitiators in order to bind the superficial lignocellulose to new functional groups which render the surface more reactive and lend it new properties. Such surface modifications

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are particularly important for high value wood utilisation such as coated wood for external use, engineered wood products for timber constructions or wood-plastic composites.

Project 4.6: Natural UV protection of wood surfaces through cellulose fibres Wood surfaces often become coarse and discoloured when exposed to sunlight and rain. What options are available for preventing damage to wood through weathering and thus for making wood more competitive in relation to other materials for external use? Thomas Volkmer (Bern University of Applied Sciences) and his team consider various opportunities to delignify the wood surface and thereby develop and stabilise a natural protection against the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.

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Project 4.7: Extraction of tannins from the bark of local conifers There is still no suitable solution for a profitable exploitation of the bark until now. The research team of FrĂŠdĂŠric Pichelin (Bern University of Applied Sciences) will develop an extraction process for gaining tannin from the bark of local conifers. The tannins gained are to be used in low-emission adhesive systems for the production of woodbased materials. This will significantly improve the added value of the bark and enable real cascade use of wood products.

Project 4.8: Adhesive bonding in structural elements made of hardwood When buildings are used in a new way or when the heating period begins, there

is often damage to the laminated wooden beams. This can involve wood planks suddenly coming loose after decades (delamination) and diminishing the supporting capacity of the structure. How can adhesives and procedures be improved so that adhesive bonding of hardwood is more reliable for decades to come? The aim of this project by Peter Niemz (ETH Zurich) is to find new answers to this question.

Project 4.9: Ultra-light bio-based particleboard with a foam core Due to the rising price of raw materials and the growing demand for flat-pack furniture, manufacturers are trying to make panel materials significantly lighter in weight. The research project of Heiko Thoemen (Bern University of Applied Sciences) aims at producing

a bio-based sandwich panel covered with layers of wood chips and containing a core of foam. The new one-stage process lowers the production costs of panels compared to the usual procedures for the production of sandwich panels.

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Module 5: Wood-based structures and buildings

Project 5.1: Dimensioning adhesively bonded timber joints

Project 5.2: Innovative and reliable structures made of beech wood

Using wood for energy efficient building systems and for a variety of support structures, infrastructure elements and furniture is the most important material use to which wood is put today. However, this needs to be developed further and become more competitive in order to assert itself more effectively in future against the pre-eminence of fossil raw materials.

The research projects in this module are devoted to industrial manufacturing and construction methods, alternative joining technologies and to improving the quality of structures using wood.

Modern wood architecture is developing strongly in the direction of “free forms” for which the joints (predominantly with mechanical elements) used today do not meet all relevant requirements.

Bonded joints constitute a better alternative. However, a reliable dimensioning method that covers all classical load scenarios in construction work is needed so that bonded joints can be more widely used in practice. Till Vallée (College of Engineering and Architecture, Fribourg) and his team will revise the relevant information chain and then transfer the insights to a design tool.

Although beech wood has very good mechanical properties, it has so far been used primarily as energy wood. The project by Andrea Frangi (ETH Zurich) aims to develop innovative and reliable structures of high quality out of beech wood and make them ready for use in the practical realm. In so doing, it hopes to come close to realising the vision of a building material that is “as strong and reliable as steel and as sustainable as wood”.

Project 5.3: Acoustically optimised floor system made of hardwood In multi-storey wooden buildings, noise at low frequencies is created by walking

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and jumping as well as home cinemas in flats and is often considered a disturbance by neighbours. In order to achieve an acoustic protection that is comparable with the one in concrete constructions, the research team of Luboť Krajcˇ i (EMPA) will develop a floor construction out of hardwood offering better acoustic insulation along with an instrument for the multidimensional optimisation of this construction.

Project 5.4: Earthquake resistant wood structures for multi-storey buildings The project by RenĂŠ Steiger (EMPA) focuses on the behaviour of joints and wall elements in multi-storey wooden structures during earthquakes and strong winds. The researchers develop an optimised timber system by using a

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deformation based dimensioning method. The results could enhance the competitiveness of wood in relation to other building materials and make multi-storey wood structures more reliable and economical and increase their planning security.

Project 5.5: Robot-assisted assembly of complex timber structures With the help of robots, complex timber structures can be precisely assembled from basic elements while saving resources. At the same time, robot-assisted assembly can be used to develop alternative construction techniques which may even utilise building materials of inferior quality. Further advantages are the possibility of integrating design and fabrication properties. The research

team of Matthias Kohler (ETH Zurich) will study the effects of digital design and fabrication processes on the structural timber of the future.

Project 5.6: Wood and wood-based concrete: The building material of the future?

Cement-bonded wood products are today mainly used for non-load-bearing purposes, e. g. as noise or fire protection panels.

However, wood-based concrete in a new mixture could also be used in ceilings and wall elements. Daia Zwicky (College of Engineering and Architecture, Fribourg) and his colleagues develop mixtures of lightweight concrete with different pre-treated wood components and assess their suitability as load-bearing materials.

Practice-oriented dimensioning approaches will be derived from the results.

Module 6: Life-cycle assessment of wood-based material flows Today, dynamic analyses of material flow patterns provide indispensable information for the sustainable use of resources.

A comparative appraisal, for example, of the carbon storage and substitution potential of wood, if used as a chemical raw material, source of energy, for wood components or as a construction material, can be extremely revealing.

Analysis of the life cycles of woodbased material flows is an overarching module within NRP 66. Together with research projects from other modules, the effects of individual applications are appraised holistically using material flow

models. This is expected to produce decision-making aids for the sustainable management of the resource wood beyond the lifetime of NRP 66.

Project 6.1: Wood2CHem: A computer-aided platform for developing bio-refinery concepts Due to the composition and complex chemical structure of wood, ligneous biomass can be used to make a large number of value-added products. The research project directed by François MarÊchal (EPF Lausanne) aims at further developing the related bio-refinery concept. With the help of a new computer-aided platform, the researchers will evaluate the possible bio-refinery models and validate them in industrial case studies.

Project 6.2: Ecological use of wood resources in Switzerland Rising prices of resources and environmental problems call for an efficient use of renewable resources both for material and energetic applications. The team of Stefanie Hellweg (ETH Zurich) will develop a software tool which can be used to test nascent technologies in respect of their ecological consequences.

In so doing, the researchers consider the entire life cycle of wood: from forestry via manufacturing and multiple use of wood products (cascade use) through to its use as a source of energy.

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Knowledge and technology transfer

Dialogue and networking are success factors Knowledge and technology transfer feature strongly in NRP 66, which is why the Steering Committee places importance on each of the research teams involving partners with practical commercial experience in their projects. At programme level, the priorities are for researchers to network among themselves and to maintain a dialogue with important stakeholder groups. NRP 66 also aims to make policymakers aware of the need to create favourable conditions for using wood judiciously.

NRP 66 also aspires to provide the knowledge gained from research towards improving the use of wood to the Swiss industry (SMEs and large companies). NRP 66 aims to promote an exchange of ideas between researchers and industry so as to ensure that the wood industry and other interested sectors obtain the benefits of knowledge and technology transfer. The wide range 28

of existing platforms and transfer agencies should be used for this purpose.

Also available to the President of NRP 66 Steering Committee and to the Head of Knowledge and Technology Transfer for NRP 66 is an Advisory Board for all matters relating to implementation. This Advisory Board includes representatives from key stakeholder groups concerned with wood utilisation.

The practical relevance of the research projects When the research projects were chosen, attention was paid to their implementation potential and to the involvement of commercial partners. The research teams are required to take account in their projects of the prospects for generating commercial value and of transferring any new knowledge acquired for use at the appropriate practical level. The planned site visits enable the research teams to discuss specific problems regarding cooperation, implementation and communication. If required, the Head of Knowledge and Technology Transfer will assist researchers in their networking efforts.

Close cooperation with the Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency CTI NRP 66 is a joint programme run by the Swiss National Science Foundation and

the Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency CTI. The CTI has made its services and promotion resources for applied research and development available to the programme. The Agency is thus making a major contribution in this NRP to cooperation and knowledge transfer between researchers and SMEs/industry.

In the first three years, NRP 66 will deliberately include research projects that may still harbour certain risks in terms of subsequent implementation.

However, in the second phase, the SNSF will only continue to subsidise projects which exhibit high practical application potential or which have a good chance of being transferred to a collaborative project with industry, financed by the CTI.

Networking between researchers NRP 66 provides researchers with a range of opportunities for a mutual exchange

of ideas. As part of NRP 66, annual programme conferences will be organised for researchers to present their projects to each other and where they can discuss any common elements in their work. Researchers can also rely on support from the Head of Knowledge and Technology Transfer whenever they wish to coordinate their activities or make contact with important stakeholder groups. In addition, discussions and exchanges of views take place within each module.

aims for a dialogue with politicians and the forestry sector about regulatory and other measures to encourage better utilisation of wood. NRP 66 also intends to stimulate discussion about pioneering strategies for woodland ownership.

Raising awareness among politicians and the forestry sector One objective of knowledge and technology transfer is to raise awareness among politicians, local authorities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) about all the ways in which wood can be used intelligently. In particular, NRP 66 29

Glossary

Key terms Biomass Overall amount of all organic matter including plants, animals, their waste and remains as well as all materials deriving from organic matter such as paper, cellulose, etc.

Bio-refinery Industrial plant which processes biomass into products such as food, chemicals, fuel, heat or electricity.

Cellulose Stabilising substance of the cell walls of higher plants. Insoluble, long polysaccharide consisting of a variety of glucose molecules. These combine to become tear-resistant and pliant fibres which ensure the tensile strength of plant matter.

Cellulose nanofibres Fibres isolated from plants (wood) or cellulose with a diameter of less than 100 nm. They improve the strength of polymers and the mechanical stability of composite materials.

Composite material Material made from various bonded materials.

Delignification Umbrella term for biological and chemicaltechnical procedures to extract lignin from wood fibres.

Dimensioning Mathematical process in engineering to establish the required material properties and the optimum dimension of parts with regard to their load carrying capacity.

Fermentation Transformation of organic matter in anaerobic and aerobic conditions by micro-organisms, enzymes or plant/animal cell cultures.

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Fibre composite Composite material of great tensile and flexural strength consisting of strengthening fibres and a matrix which gives the material its look.

Green chemicals Chemical materials which are to a large extent produced from regenerative raw materials (biomass) and renewable resources.

Hemicelluloses Important components of plant cell walls, in conjunction with cellulose and lignin. They consist of a group of non-uniform, insoluble and short polysaccharides. Together with lignin they stabilise the cellulose structure of cell walls.

Lignin Integral component of the cell walls of ligneous plants. As supporting material and hardened polymer, lignin lends cell walls rigidity and compressive strength.

Lignocellulose Lignocellulose, consisting of cellulose, hemicelluloses und lignin, forms the cell walls of woody plants and lends them stability. The pliant and tear-resistant fibres of cellulose are permeated by the dense and rigid polymer lignin.

Methanation Chemical reaction in which carbon monoxide (CO) or carbon dioxide are transformed into methane. Through methanation, gases with a high CO content can be turned into synthetic natural gas (SNG).

Nanocomposite Composite material that contains particles or structures in the nanometre range (1 nm = 10-9 m).

Nanoparticles Particles with a diameter of a few nanometres. As a rule, nanoparticles have different properties

than larger particles of the same material and have a much larger surface area.

Polymers Primarily organic compounds consisting of a large number of small molecular units (monomers). So called high polymers (polymers with a large number of joined units) include cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin.

Synthetic natural gas (SNG) Natural gas substitute produced on the basis of coal or biomass via synthetic gas.

Tannins Tanning agent extracted from plant parts for industrial use, e. g. in bonding agents, drugs and inks.

Timber mobilisation Term from forestry describing all measures to boost logging and the amount of commercially used wood.

Wood gas A synthesised gas for energetic or chemical use gained in wood gas generators. After subsequent methanation and processing, wood gas can be fed into the grid as synthetic natural gas.

Wood-based materials Products created by segmenting and subsequent bonding of wood (e. g. plywood, chipboard, laminated veneer lumber, fibre board).

Information

Schedule and organisation NRP 66 “Resource Wood” will run to the end of 2016 and is divided into two phases, first of three years and then of two years. In the second phase, only those research projects with a high potential for practical application will continue to be subsidised. The final reports are expected in 2017.

Schedule 2012–2015: 1st research phase January 2012:

Research work begins (1st call for proposals)

January 2012:

2nd call for proposals

March 2012: June 2012: Summer 2013: January 2015:

Kick-off meeting Research work begins (2nd call for proposals) 1st NRP 66 summer school Final reports of the 3-year research projects

2015–2016: 2nd research phase Summer 2015: December 2016: 2017:

2nd NRP 66 summer school Research projects completed Concluding events, final report

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Information

Participants Steering Committee Dr. Martin Riediker President, CH Prof. Charlotte Bengtsson SP Trätek, “Wood Technology and wood in construction”, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Borås, S Prof. Alain Dufresne School of Paper Science, Print Media and Biomaterials, PAGORA, Grenoble Institute of Technology, Grenoble, F

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Prof. Birgit Kamm Institute for Bioactive Polymer Systems Research, Teltow, D Dr. Jakob Rhyner United Nations University (UNU), Bonn; Vice Rector in Europe (UNU-ViE) and Director of the UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), D Prof. Liselotte Schebek Industrial Material Cycles, Technical University of Darmstadt and Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, D

Prof. Alfred Teischinger Institute of Wood Science and Technology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, A

Delegate of Division IV of the National Research Council Prof. Nina Buchmann Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zurich, CH

Prof. Philippe Thalmann Research Group for Economics and Environmental Management, EPF Lausanne, CH

Representative of the Federal Administration Rolf Manser Head of the Forestry Division, Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, Berne, CH

Programme Coordinator Dr. Barbara Flückiger Schwarzenbach Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF Wildhainweg 3 CH–3001 Berne P: +41 (0)31 308 22 22 M: nrp66@snf.ch Head of Knowledge and Technology Transfer Thomas Bernhard IC Infraconsult AG Eigerstrasse 60 CH–3007 Berne P: +41(0)31 359 24 24 M: icag@infraconsult.ch

July 2012 Editor National Research Programme NRP 66

The Swiss National Science Foundation The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is Switzerland’s leading provider of scientific research funding. Commissioned by the federal government, it supports research work in all academic fields, from philosophy and nanoscience to biology and medicine.

The focus of its activities is the scientific endorsement of projects submitted by researchers. Each year, approximately 3,000 projects and 7,000 researchers are funded by the SNSF with an annual total amount of around CHF 700 million.

Copies of this brochure can be obtained from: Swiss National Science Foundation Wildhainweg 3 Postfach 8232 CH–3001 Bern Tel.: +41 (0)31 308 22 22 Fax: +41 (0)31 305 29 70 E-mail: nrp66@snf.ch www.snf.ch www.nrp66.ch

Swiss National Science Foundation Wildhainweg 3 Postfach 8232 CH–3001 Bern Editorial staff Thomas Bernhard, Krisztina Beer-Tóth (IC Infraconsult), Regine Duda (SNSF) Design grafik design meili, Wetzikon Photos © Cover, see (from l. to r.) pages 17, 18, 24, 5, 20, 23, 12 and 17 Page 5, Twellmann, Münsingen/LIGNUM; Victor Zastol’skiy, Fotolia Page 6, Michael Neuhauß, Fotolia Page 8, Bauwerk Parquet, St. Margrethen/LIGNUM; Renggli, Sursee/LIGNUM Page 12, Meuter, Zurich/LIGNUM; Architektur und Baumanagement Ltd., Dallenwil/LIGNUM Page 14, Niemz, ETH Zurich/LIGNUM Page 17, American Society of Plant Biologists; Niemz, ETH Zurich/LIGNUM Page 18, Kang, CHIP Fotowelt Page 20, Grützmacher, ETH Zurich Page 23, UPM Helsinki; POST/LIGNUM Page 24, Corinne Cuendet, Clarens/LIGNUM; Pilatus Aircraft Ltd., Stans/LIGNUM

www.nrp66.ch

NRP 66 in brief

The objective of NRP 66

NRP 66 aims to develop scientific principles and practical approaches for making the renewable resource wood more readily available and widely used. The programme, which is being coordinated in conjunction with the Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency CTI, has total funding of CHF 18 million and will run until the end of 2016. Thirty research teams from numerous regions of Switzerland are taking part.

The objective of NRP 66 is for wood to be used in an intelligent way over its entire lifecycle. In particular, the programme aims to achieve: • a broader understanding of woodbased material flows, improvements to wood supplies and decision-making aids for authorities and for the forestry and timber industries; • new knowledge and technologies for using wood as a basic component in

chemical products and for manufacturing new composite materials; • further technical advances in the generation of power from wood and in using it as a material for structures and buildings; • competitiveness through increased added value in wood-based industries, enhanced skills and research capacities in Switzerland, and a new impetus for commercial innovation.