NMG Lunchtime Seminar Series: Focus on Wood Technology

 

Join our monthly virtual event, where the focus will be on wood technology. 

Agenda

13:00 – Introduction
13:05 – Presentations
14:00 – Open discussion
14.30 – Closing

You will hear from

Dr Morwenna Spear (Session Chair)

Wood Technology Group Chair and Research Scientist, The BioComposites Centre, Bangor University

Dr Dennis Jones FIMMM PhD MRSC CChem

Wood Technology Group Secretary, Associate Professor, Luleå University of Technology and a docent at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

X-Ray Computed Tomography: Seeing the Wood From the Trees

• Wood's heterogeneous form leads it to behave differently from sample to sample. While general performances can be assumed, specific performances in use can lead to early failure. This may be due to grain angles, defects or moisture levels. How can we observe the inner structure of wood without testing to failure? 
• Medical advances enable us to do this using X-rays and X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning. CT scanning, in particular, can be used to determine the properties of wood. 
• This short presentation considers the implementation of CT scanning for wood, and how it has been used to advance primary processing at sawmills, determine the influence of moisture within wood, and more recently, study fire performance issues, not only for solid wood, but engineered wood products.

Dr Simon Curling FIMMM

Research Fellow, The BioComposites Centre, Bangor University

Mimicking Natural Wood Decay - Why?

• Wood decay by microorganisms is a successful and sophisticated strategy for accessing nutrients in lignocellulosic materials. It has been comprehensively studied for many years, and there is now a good, albiet incomplete, understanding of the processes involved. 
• If we understand wood decay by microorganisms, can we replicate it? Globally, researchers have used the wood decay process, or components of it, for industrial and biotechnological purposes. Now, they are looking at creating artificially decayed wood to study methods of preservation in heritage conservation. This is especially useful, as existing conservation methods have downsides, and innovative methods cannot be tested on valuable heritage specimens. 
• This talk explores current approaches and research in mimicking natural wood decay, and the need for such approaches in light of climate change's impact on wooden heritage. 

Dr Paul Baker

Research Officer, The BioComposites Centre, Bangor University

Wild Mushroom Growth and Fungal Pigment Production on Spent Mushroom Waste

• Recent reviews describe the potential of different coloured fungi to produce pigments.
• Spent mushroom substrate is a waste product comprising wood chips that have been used in the culvation of wild mushrooms. It has little value after cultivation, and this project considers its potential as a substrate for the growth of pigmented fungi. 
• Three different fungi, producing blue, green or orange pigments, were investigated. Join this talk to discover which ones were successful and learn more about the parameters and scaling opportunities we explored.