Forest Products
The Forest Products research group conducts cutting-edge research in forest-derived raw materials and side streams, to promote the utilization of renewable materials and contribute to sustainable development goals.
Our research
The aim of the Forest Products research group is to provide knowledge-based solutions for efficiently utilizing forest materials and developing functional and environmentally-friendly products. Forest Products performs interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research to influence the entire forest value chain, from raw material sourcing to product development, processing and market. We have a close collaboration with well-known national and international research institutes, universities, and forest and wood product industries.
We focus on:
- Wood quality assessment: Micro- and macro-structural analyses, including physical, mechanical, chemical, and anatomical characterization, of wood and non-wood raw materials from various silvicultural practices for suggesting the optimal application.
- Wood protection and modification: Extending the service life of wood and other bio-based materials and products by creating new functionalities through advanced processing.
- Wood composites: Wood- and fiber-based composites from renewable sources (virgin or reclaimed raw materials) for furniture and building applications; valorization of side streams from forest and agriculture industries for developing bio-based adhesives and additives.
- Wood processing: Sawmilling, wood machining and wood drying to ensure the quality of the final product.
- Wood market: Wood product trade and policy, timber prices and forecasts, production, consumption, and trade of forest products.
The research within Forest Products is part of the Forestry and Wood field of research, and of the Linnaeus Knowledge Environments Advanced Materials and Green Sustainable Development.
Research projects
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Doctoral project: Raw material properties and process optimization for increased value-added wood flooring products The development of the wood industry relates to its capability for improvement of…
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Project: Application of renewable hydrophobic formulations for wood composite panel manufacturing The project aims at expanding the competencies and transferring knowledge between academia and the…
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Project: Predicting the water vapor sorption of wood with machine learning methods The water vapor sorption behavior of wood is a fundamental property that affects nearly all of its properties such as…
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Project: Wood anatomy and identification The aim of this project is to improve lab facilities for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as for the researchers, in addressing the questions…
Finished research projects
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Project: QualityWBPs – Innovative treatments and adhesives for high quality, sustainable wood-based panels This project aims to develop less hygroscopic wood-based panels through the application of…
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Project: X-ray density profile measuring system for wood composites This project features purchase and demonstration of a laboratory density profile measuring unit of wood composites (particleboards,…
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Project: Thermo-Reversible Starch-based Adhesives for Wood Panels (Tresa) The Tresa project pursues a novel approach to develop reversible, bio-based starch adhesive systems for applications in wood…
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Project: Novel starch-based adhesive systems to enable recycling of fibreboards This project aims to develop and validate starch-based adhesives for recyclable fibreboards, both at the laboratory at…
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Project: Creep behaviour of environmental-friendly wood panels under different service class situations The project aims at exploring fundamentals related to creep behaviour of environmental-friendly…
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Project: Bio-based polyurethane adhesives for cross-laminated timber (CLT) This project envisages the collaboration of the Group of Forest Products research group at Linnaeus University, for the…
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Project: Environmental friendly wood composites with bio-based additives This project explored the potential of using renewable materials from pulping biorefeniries as water-repellent additives for…
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Project: Tall-oil based hydrophobing formulations for industrial fibreboards The aim of this project is to develop, validate and demonstrate water repellent formulations for industrial fibreboards…
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Project: Application of new biorefinery lignin-based adhesives in the wood panel industry The project envisages a mobility of professor Stergios Adamopoulos (20 % work time) from Linnaeus University…
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Project: From native wheat starch towards innovative adhesives for wood panels The project aims at exploring fundamentals related to the modification of wheat starch from Lantmännen operations, and…
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Project: Renewable hydrophobing agents for fibreboards based on tall oil The project aims at preparing and testing 100 % renewable formulations that are based on tall oil for effective…
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Project: Formaldehyde emissions from wood composites bonded with bio-based adhesives Formaldehyde based adhesives dominate the market and are used almost exclusively for wood panel production. The use…
Publications
Laboratory resources
We have well-equipped laboratories and specialised modern instruments in the area of wood material science and technology, e g an anatomical lab with modern microscopy, a physical and mechanical lab including non-destructive testing, a chemical lab with wet and analytical chemistry, an emission, weathering and durability lab, and a composite panel manufacturing lab. The infrastructure is used to support research and education of our students, and to provide services for the forest and wood industry in Southern Sweden.
Tree ring analysis, microscopy and wood anatomy, fiber analysis and densitometry
- Wood cell anatomy software WinCell
- Image analysis densitometry with the softwares Lignovision and WinDendro
- Haglöf increment borers
- Micro-boring with Suunto increment hammer
Physical properties
- Climate and mould chambers
- Climate and freezing rooms
- Drying and vacuum ovens
- Balances and dial micrometers
- Moisture meters for chips and fibres Imal
Chemical properties
- Soxhlet extraction
- Willey mill Polymix
- Ash muffle furnaces
- Viscosity meter
- Disperser Ultra-Turrax
- Heating mandles and plates
- Volatile organic emissions test chambers (1m3)
- Access to wet chemistry and spectroscopy lab (Department of built environment and energy technology) for FTIR, GC-MS, ICP, FID, TGA, DSC, etc
Mechanical properties and non-destructive testing
- Stress wave tool IML Microhammer (standing trees, logs, lumber)
- Mechanical tool IML Fractometer II (increment cores)
- Resonance tool Fakopp TreeSonic Timer (standing trees)
- Ultrasonic tool Fakopp Ultrasonic Timer (seedlings, lumber, panels)
- Ultrasonic tool SylvaTest Trio (standing trees, logs, lumber, construction)
- Resistograph Series 6 R650-SC MTS (standing trees)
- Testing machine MTS Exceed 10 kN
Composites' manufacturing
Weathering (paints, coatings, surfaces)
- Outdoor weathering at Asa experimental station
Wood drying
Workshop
- Basic facilities for preparing samples (e g cutting, planning)
Group members
- Adrien Letoffe Postdoctoral Fellow
- +46 470-70 81 57
- adrienletoffelnuse
- Alma Strkonjic Doctoral student
- +46 470-70 82 70
- almastrkonjiclnuse
- Åsa Rydell Blom Associate professor, pro-dean
- +46 470-70 81 26
- asablomlnuse
- Jimmy Johansson Professor
- +46 470-70 80 33
- +46 72-526 41 31
- jimmyjohanssonlnuse
- Johan Lindeberg Senior lecturer
- +46 470-70 81 94
- +46 76-760 36 75
- johanlindeberglnuse
- Jonaz Nilsson Lecturer
- +46 470-70 89 42
- +46 72-594 16 04
- jonaznilssonlnuse
- Nicolas Neitzel Doctoral student
- +46 470-70 80 64
- nicolasneitzellnuse
- Peter Lerman Senior lecturer
- +46 470-70 83 79
- +46 70-388 63 59
- peterlermanlnuse
- Reza Hosseinpourpia Associate Professor
- +46 470-70 80 74
- +46 73-089 47 33
- rezahosseinpourpialnuse
- Sebastian Svensson Meulmann Doctoral student
- +46 470-70 80 51
- +46 70-257 34 87
- sebastiansvenssonmeulmannlnuse
- Sheikh Ali Ahmed Senior lecturer
- +46 470-76 74 92
- +46 72-501 44 15
- sheikhahmedlnuse
- Stergios Adamopoulos Professor visiting
- +46 470-76 75 47
- +46 72-547 22 18
- stergiosadamopouloslnuse
- Thomas Walther Adjunct professor
- thomaswaltherlnuse
- Victor Grubîi Doctoral student
- +46 470-70 89 70
- victorgrubiilnuse