Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FACADE (FAçade bio-CArbon based anti UV coating to prevent DEterioration of wooden buildings)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2020-04-01 do 2022-03-31
Façades play crucial roles in the building safety, comfort, and aesthetics. As an envelope for buildings, they are in constant interaction with outside environment. In Europe, the construction sector is one of the highest energy consumers and one of the main contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. The building industry is one of the key enablers for the 2050 decarbonisation goal in the EU economy. Therefore, enhancing the sustainability of construction materials is a key priority. Wooden facades are attractive due to their pleasant aesthetics and to the use of renewable resources for building. However, wooden materials are sensitive to the exposure in the outside environment. Indeed, ultraviolet (UV) solar radiation absorbed by lignin – constituting up to 40% of wood – initiates the weathering of wood. It is therefore crucial to limit the weathering effects that can then lead to deterioration of wood by using coatings to protect its surface. The FAÇADE project proposes to develop a competitive and sustainable bio-sourced anti-UV coating to protect wooden façades, using bio-carbon as UV-absorber.
The specific objectives of the project are:
– To perform an in-depth analysis of the effect of biomass carbonization processes on the structure and properties of bio-carbon needed for UV protection.
– To develop an efficient and reliable process to convert microscale bio-carbon particles to nanosized carbon particles without damaging the inherent structure.
– To manufacture a novel, fully bio-based anti-UV coating and to assess the anti-UV performance on different wood species.
The specific objectives of the project are:
– To perform an in-depth analysis of the effect of biomass carbonization processes on the structure and properties of bio-carbon needed for UV protection.
– To develop an efficient and reliable process to convert microscale bio-carbon particles to nanosized carbon particles without damaging the inherent structure.
– To manufacture a novel, fully bio-based anti-UV coating and to assess the anti-UV performance on different wood species.
Within the project, various carbonization processes have been set to produce carbon materials from hemp stalks and beech wood biomass with resulting properties that were fully characterized. The UV and visible protection properties were controlled by the particle size (the smaller the particles, the better the protection), other process parameters having little effect on this property. Calorific power and electrical properties were tightly linked to their elemental composition and microstructure, which were mainly governed by the pyrolysis temperature. Hemp biochar carbonized at 400–600°C were classified as lignocellulosic materials with a good potential for solid biofuel applications. Hemp biochar carbonized at 800–1000 °C displayed interesting electrical conductivity, opening opportunities for its use in electrical purposes. The electrical conductivity was related to the evolution of the biochar microstructure (development of graphite-like structure and changes in microporosity) in regard with the thermochemical conversion process parameters. Finally, the developed biocarbon could be used as well as an interesting filler to substitute the polymeric component of composites and coatings.
Coatings were prepared with 0, 5, 10 and 20 wt% biocarbon in tung oil and were left to dry for 4 weeks. In a view of transferring the coating recipe to the industry, modification should be brought to the formulation to drastically reduce the drying time. Customers mostly expect drying time between a few hours to a few days, as it is the case for classical paints. The coated samples underwent two types of weathering (artificial and natural). The sustainable coatings developed during the project displayed promising properties for wood protection, enhancing colour stability, water repellence and development of cracks. However, the FAÇADE project highlighted a drying time too important for potential customers expectations, which would necessitate to chemically modify the tung oil to accelerate the drying process. Moreover, the biocarbon effect starts to significantly influence the coating properties for ratio higher than 5 wt%, which already confers to the wood a strong black colour. Since the decrease in particle size increased absorbance in the UV and visible spectrums, more efforts should be done to find efficient process to downsize the biocarbon to nanoparticles, which would allow to use smaller ratios in the coatings for equivalent properties, and obtaining coatings with a lighter colour.
The results of the FAÇADE project were disseminated to scientific peers at an international level through six publications published in open access in peer reviewed international journals, plus two publications under preparation. The ER participated in 8 international conferences to present her results and develop other management and communication skills. The ER disseminated her knowledge through 12 invited lectures and workshops to diverse audiences consisting in young and experimented researchers, as well as pupils to encourage them to engage in science and scientific carrier.
To gain an easy recognition of the FAÇADE project activities by the audience, the ER created a logo to vehiculate the FAÇADE visual identity in any type of communication (Image 2). Through the project length, 2041 users connected to the FACADE website from sixty-seven different countries on every continent. The ER has organized fifteen monthly webinars starring international researchers. The “FAÇADE webinar series” reached audience far beyond the researchers of the host organization, gathering six hundred thirty-seven registered participants. Seventy-four respondents from twenty countries answered the “Black coating for wood surfaces” (Image 3) survey. Two promotional videos starring the ER were released for different purposes, and two initiatives proposed by the European Commission, #MyJobinResearch (Image 4) and Fellow of the week (Image 5), broadcasted the ER and the FACADE project.
Coatings were prepared with 0, 5, 10 and 20 wt% biocarbon in tung oil and were left to dry for 4 weeks. In a view of transferring the coating recipe to the industry, modification should be brought to the formulation to drastically reduce the drying time. Customers mostly expect drying time between a few hours to a few days, as it is the case for classical paints. The coated samples underwent two types of weathering (artificial and natural). The sustainable coatings developed during the project displayed promising properties for wood protection, enhancing colour stability, water repellence and development of cracks. However, the FAÇADE project highlighted a drying time too important for potential customers expectations, which would necessitate to chemically modify the tung oil to accelerate the drying process. Moreover, the biocarbon effect starts to significantly influence the coating properties for ratio higher than 5 wt%, which already confers to the wood a strong black colour. Since the decrease in particle size increased absorbance in the UV and visible spectrums, more efforts should be done to find efficient process to downsize the biocarbon to nanoparticles, which would allow to use smaller ratios in the coatings for equivalent properties, and obtaining coatings with a lighter colour.
The results of the FAÇADE project were disseminated to scientific peers at an international level through six publications published in open access in peer reviewed international journals, plus two publications under preparation. The ER participated in 8 international conferences to present her results and develop other management and communication skills. The ER disseminated her knowledge through 12 invited lectures and workshops to diverse audiences consisting in young and experimented researchers, as well as pupils to encourage them to engage in science and scientific carrier.
To gain an easy recognition of the FAÇADE project activities by the audience, the ER created a logo to vehiculate the FAÇADE visual identity in any type of communication (Image 2). Through the project length, 2041 users connected to the FACADE website from sixty-seven different countries on every continent. The ER has organized fifteen monthly webinars starring international researchers. The “FAÇADE webinar series” reached audience far beyond the researchers of the host organization, gathering six hundred thirty-seven registered participants. Seventy-four respondents from twenty countries answered the “Black coating for wood surfaces” (Image 3) survey. Two promotional videos starring the ER were released for different purposes, and two initiatives proposed by the European Commission, #MyJobinResearch (Image 4) and Fellow of the week (Image 5), broadcasted the ER and the FACADE project.
The FAÇADE project aimed at developing a novel sustainable anti-UV wood coating fully produced with renewable by-product resources that promotes the use of waste to create a local virtuous circular economy. The FAÇADE project contributed to technological advances toward the coating development, and paved the way for scaling up to industrial scale, by highlighting the last technological barriers to overcome. Once on the market, this type of coating will provide side benefits, such as reducing or cancelling harmful emissions and thus decreasing the health issues associated to the inhalation of such compounds. General population is poorly aware of this risk, with only 34% of the respondent of the survey thinking that low volatile organic compounds emission is an important property for a coating.
The FACADE project promoted the use of wastes from agriculture and forestry sectors, by defining new potential markets and giving them a higher value. Indeed, beside the anti-UV property, the in-depth study of bio-carbon, in relation with the process parameters, highlighted the possibility to exploit the bio-carbon material as efficient solid fuel, component with electrical conductivity, filler in polymeric composites, and VOC adsorber. The by-products gaseous compounds produced during carbonization were analysed and interesting properties, such as antioxidant activity, were observed. With the properties of solid and gaseous products identified thanks to the fellowship, a large range of applications can be reached towards resource efficiency and sustainable bioeconomy, along with the potential creation of new value chains. These achievements match the will of EU to support pro-environmental initiatives and open the path for new contributions of the ER at the European level.
The FACADE project promoted the use of wastes from agriculture and forestry sectors, by defining new potential markets and giving them a higher value. Indeed, beside the anti-UV property, the in-depth study of bio-carbon, in relation with the process parameters, highlighted the possibility to exploit the bio-carbon material as efficient solid fuel, component with electrical conductivity, filler in polymeric composites, and VOC adsorber. The by-products gaseous compounds produced during carbonization were analysed and interesting properties, such as antioxidant activity, were observed. With the properties of solid and gaseous products identified thanks to the fellowship, a large range of applications can be reached towards resource efficiency and sustainable bioeconomy, along with the potential creation of new value chains. These achievements match the will of EU to support pro-environmental initiatives and open the path for new contributions of the ER at the European level.