Scientific Activity > Programmes, projects > National Research Programme 2010-2014 > Project 2
Project performers: Project implementation term: 48 months (2010-2013) The aim of the Project is to develop innovative forest management technologies, create innovative wood and non-wood products, rationally utilise the forestry resources and considerably increase the products’ added value. To promote the development of the forest field and Latvia’s national economy, by sustainable way multiplying the wood resources available for industrial production and developing technologies for the innovative and rational utilisation of these resources for producing high added value products, the Project embraces 4 Sub-projects, in which the following tasks and actualities are planned: Sub-project 1 The aim of the Sub-project 1 is the synergy with the earlier carried out National Research Programme’s Project and, conforming to the priority research directions, defined for the forestry field, the development of new forest growing technologies, formalising them and achieving their application in production. 1) Development of new technologies for intensifying the forestry production, including: a) technologies for hybridisation and adaptation of forest tree species; 2) Elaboration and verifying of mathematic forecast models to evaluate the effect of growing high-quality, productive and healthy forest stands. Sub-project 2 The aim of the Sub-project 2 is to develop preconditions for upgrading the wood resources measurement methods, and to evaluate the mobilisation potentialities of the local wood resources (availability, logistics) to ensure the demand for producing new higher added value products. 1) Development of preconditions for upgrading methods for measurement of wood resources; To elucidate the possibility of wood resources’ mobilisation for producing higher added value products and bioenergy production, studies will be carried out on the possible deviations, which emerge when applying different measurement methods in the timber and wood products’ production cycle, for the possibilities to diminish such deviations. Studies on the relationship between the supply and demand of wood resources on the Latvian regions’ level, and their effect on the availability of the resources, depending on social, ecological and economic factors, will be continued. The study on upgrading the potentiality of the rational utilisation of wood resources will be continued, decreasing the production costs during the timber production, import and export process. As a result of the work, the availability of the local wood resources for producing higher added value wood products will be elucidated, and models of wood resources flows and optimal logistics solutions will be developed. Sub-project 3 The aim of the Sub-project 3 is to create new products for rational utilisation of forestry resources and considerable increase in products’ added value. The tasks of the work embrace new technological solutions for obtaining higher added valued products and materials. 1) Study of the potentialities of the rational utilisation of low density wood and offer of the propositions to upgrade its service properties (modification, densification, etc.); To obtain new products with a considerably higher added value, competitiveness and wider application potentialities, including those from fast-growing deciduous wood, technologies will be developed for producing composite materials and light boards, rational utilisation of low density wood and upgrading service properties (modification, densification, etc.); methods and agents to increase the biological, fire and weather durability of wood, and propositions for decreasing material and power intensity will be developed. New products are obtained – boards and composite materials with improved mechanical properties, modified soft deciduous wood, solvent-free fire protection compositions, etc. will be characterised and tested in detail. As a result of the study, products with improved forecasted properties will be obtained, and the compatibility of the wood products and building materials will be certified, promoting the use of timber and wood composite materials in construction and life environment. 1) Statement of technological solutions for wasteless conversion of wood into individual carbohydrates, their derivatives and sorbents. For obtaining a wide spectrum of products of the high added value niche from bark, wood waste and wood components, optimal deep processing technology integration schemes will be devised, embracing both traditional and innovative methods; methods for products’ isolation, fractionation and purification will be developed, and optimal application potentialities and market niches will be elucidated. Extraction, hydrolysis, and pyrolysis technologies for wasteless obtaining of varied products (xylose, hemicelluloses, anhydrosugars and sorbents) from birch wood, elucidating for this purpose the optimal process parameters and choosing the most ecological methods, will be developed and integrated. Innovative extraction regimes (supercritical extraction, fluidised bed extraction) will be developed for isolation of polyphenols and sorbents from bark and purification; the properties and application fields of the compounds as well as the regimes of nanoparticles’ obtaining from lignocellulose residues after bark extraction will be elucidated; their use for upgrading the properties of polyurethane composites and paper will be elucidated. The products of biorefinery of wood and waste wood will be used as binders and additives for obtaining composite materials, including self-binding boards. The results will favour the rational utilisation of wood biomass, including that from renewable deciduous wood, for obtaining wide spectrum products by maximally environmentally friendly methods.
National Research Programme No. 2010.10-4/VPP-5
“Sustainable Use of Local Resources (Entrails of the Earth, Forest, Food and Transport) – New Products and Technologies (NatRes)”
(2010-2013)Project No. 2. New products and innovative technologies of forest management, production technologies for forest wood and non-wood products, rationally utilising forestry resources and considerably increasing the products’ added value (FOREST)
Project manager: Dr. silv. Dagnis Dubrovskis, Latvian University of Agriculture, Faculty of Forestry
To develop innovative sustainable forest management technologies to ensure the increase in the productivity of forestry productions, adapted to the climate changes, and the economic vitality of Latvia’s forestry
Responsible performer: Mg. silv. Jurģis Jansons, Latvian State Forest Research Institute „Silava”.
Activities:
b) technologies for vegetative reproduction of ligneous plants;
c) technologies for increasing wood dimensions and quality in relation to individual trees’ and forest stands’ growing conditions;
d) technologies for forest management mechanisation, forest regeneration, tending and exploitation.
3) Study of the short-term and long-term utilisation potentialities of wood resources in connection with the effective utilisation of soil on the basis of the approximation of the course of growing intensively cultivated forests.
For the development, formalisation and application of the new forest cultivation technologies, the long-term forest study objects, available at the disposal of the Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, as well as the formed laboratories, will be employed. Because silviculture can develop only on the basis of the objects of long-term studies, it would be planned to supplement the forestry objects with new ones. In the implementation of mathematical models, statistical inventory information on Latvia’s forestry resources will be used, the acquisition of which does not require additional means. As a result of the studies, the developed theoretical preconditions for cultivating productive and high-quality forest stands and mathematical models for evaluating the growing effect will enable the forecast of the increase in the forestry production productivity, adapted to climate changes.
Evaluation of the mobilisation potentialities of the local wood resources to ensure the demand for production of new higher added value products and bioenergy production
Responsible performer: Dr. silv. Dagnis Dubrovskis, Latvian University of Agriculture, Faculty of Forestry.
Activities:
2) Development of a method for modelling the availability of local wood resources, corresponding to the demand for producing innovative high added value wood products;
3) Investigation of the timber transportation logistics problems, to form a wood resources transportation and finance flow model.
Study and elaboration of new technological solutions for the development of innovative higher added value materials and products in the whole wood added value chain
Responsible performer: Prof., Dr. habil. sc. Henna Tuherm, Latvian University of Agriculture, Faculty of Forestry.
Activities:
2) Elaboration of propositions to decrease the material and power intensity of the wood products to obtain innovative products with a high added value;
3) Development of preconditions for the production of innovative composite materials and light boards;
4) Elaboration of methods and means to upgrade the wood materials’ fire and durability properties.
Sub-project 4
Development of statement for obtaining products of small tonnage with a high added value, integrating biorefinery technologies for the utilisation of wasteless wood components
Responsible performer: Dr. chem. Bruno Andersons, Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry.
The aim of the Sub-project 4 is the development of deep processing technologies, and optimal integration for wasteless utilisation of wood components for obtaining products of the high added value niche.
Activities:
2) Functional products and chemicals with a high added value from tree bark.
3) Composite materials, containing wood and waste wood biorefinery products.