Innovative "green wood treatment" to achieve Risk Class4 protection

Objective

In Western Europe, there is a growing interest and market for wood construction since timber is available and consumers are attracted by the environmentally-friendly image and advantages of wood. While traditional construction is mainly led by big companies manufacturing concrete, sawn-wood activity is most favourable to the development of SMEs along the whole "forest-wood chain". Yet, there are many barriers to overcome to make wood competitive and adopted by a larger amount of consumers. One of them is the deterioration of the material when exposed to outdoor conditions requiring protection with special treatments.

These treatments include biocides (formerly known as non-agricultural pesticides) used to destroy and exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism by chemical or biological means. They are still widely used in most of the countries, but the tendency in the future is to control their use. Currently, the highest level of biological protection, Class Risk 4 can be reached only with treatments that inject in the wood toxic products such as creosote, pentachlorophenol or hydrosoluble salts.

The project will provide the wood industry with an innovative, safe and efficient solution for the in depth protection of wood against biological predators by using a green chemical process applicable by the SMEs without risks. This solution, completed with a surface coating, will satisfy Risk Class 4 protection and provide a new scientific base for the application of the European Directives controlling and reducing the use of chemical compounds that are toxic to humans, animals and the environment.

Hence, over a thousand SMEs from several European countries (Spain, France, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden and Romania) members of the six IAGs of the consortium will be able to activate their competitiveness, and to improve health and safety at work.

Programme(s)

• FP6-SME - Horizontal research activities involving SMEs: Specific activities covering wider field of research under the Focusing and Integrating Community Research programme 2002-2006.

Topic(s)

• SME-2 - Collective Research (all areas of science and technology)

Call for proposal

FP6-2003-SME-2
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Coordinator

Participants (16)