The project, led by a UDT-CENAMAD research team, aims to protect wood from agents such as sun rays and fungi using substances from pine and eucalyptus bark.
Researchers from the Technological Development Unit (UDT) of the Universidad de Concepción and the National Center of Excellence for the Wood Industry (CENAMAD) are working on an additive of natural origin to increase the durability of wood used in interior and exterior applications. This additive is based on extracts obtained from pine and eucalyptus bark.
The team in charge is composed of members of our center, with principal investigator Dr. Cecilia Fuentealba; Project Leader Dr. Victor Ferrer; associate researcher Vicente Hernandez, and postdoctoral researcher Danilo Escobar. They lead the FONDEF project “Natural additive obtained from forest by-products and incorporated in the formulation of coatings to increase the durability of wood for interior and exterior use”, awarded in 2023 and carried out in collaboration with the companies Industrias Ceresita and Bioforest.
The objective of this work is to develop a product using phenolic compounds extracted from wood industry by-products. In this case, pine and eucalyptus barks are transformed into raw materials of commercial interest, instead of being discarded during the production process. This additive, designed to be added to the formulation of wood paints, will provide a new degree of protection against degradation agents such as solar radiation and fungi. In this way, the concept of circularity is integrated into the wood industry, promoting sustainability and offering eco-friendly wood protection alternatives.
Since wood is susceptible to multiple degradation agents, due to its natural origin, a cultural prejudice has been created that qualifies it as weak or of poor quality. Although there are products on the market capable of remedying this vulnerability, their composition generates a new problem, since they contain toxic substances with negative impacts on health and the environment.
Seeking a solution to this problem, the team identified that several highly available forest by-products are not being used. In this case, it is tree bark, which contains substances capable of providing protection against UV rays and fungi. Therefore, the researchers seek to rescue these raw materials, extracting the compounds of interest as a basis for creating this additive.
When asked about this, the UDT-CENAMAD team stated that the greatest scientific challenge is the development of a biomordant that allows the active compounds from the bark to be fixed to the wood, since they are easily leachable. Currently, there is little information on this type of substances of biological origin that function as a bridge between the active compounds and the chemical structure of the wood. This is in addition to other questions, such as maintaining effectiveness at a competitive price.
“CENAMAD plays a crucial role in our project,” the UDT team said of the center’s support. “Its importance lies in encouraging and promoting the use of wood for construction solutions at the national level, an aspect in which we can contribute with sustainable solutions.”
Source: CENAMAD