The
BioComposites Centre is a
designated Scientific Centre of Excellence, which was established in
1989 at the University of
Wales, Bangor with the assistance of
the Welsh
Develempment Agency and industry.
It is self financing and carries out contract research on the
processing of wood and plant materials. It is staffed by an
interdisciplinary team of wood, polymer and material scientists,
biologists, chemists and physicists, with many years of experience
of research into industrial utilisation of wood and plant fibres,
and plant polymers. All employees work exclusively on contract
research and all work is carried out in strict commercial confidence
with the same level of attendance given to one-man operations as to
multi-national corporations. The
BioComposites Centre hosted the
IVth European Panel Products Symposium, from 11-13th October,
2000 at the North Wales
Conference Centre, Llandudno.
The
Biocomposites Centre, which has links to the School
of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, offers instant access
to University expertise and facilities, and the fast response needed
for industrial research. The Pulp and Paper activities of the
BioComposites Centre are carried out under the name of the Fibre
Technology Association.
The
BioComposites Centre specialises in industrial contract research on
the processing of wood and plant materials such as:
-
processing and
utilisation of renewable plant materials.
-
modification
of fibrous and non fibrous tissues of plants and plant
polymersto facilitate the production of novel materials.
-
new
markets for under-utilised plant resources and residues as
industrial feedstocks
-
implementation
of new technology in industry
With
ten years of experience in the production of pilot scale
panelboards, facilities for the production of MDF and particleboards
at the BioComposites Centre are wide-ranging and versatile. The
ability to produce and test panels from 100mm diameter to 1000mm
square facilitates the development of a wide range of products. All
stages of the production process can be closely monitored and varied
as required, from refiner pressure and particle size to the rate of
cooling of the pressed panel.
The plant is staffed by a crew of wood scientists, fitters,
mechanics and chemists. The pilot plant has full access to the
expertise offered by other sections of the BioComposites Centre.
All work is carried out in strict commercial confidence and
the same level of attendance given to one-man operations as to
multi-national corporations.
The
MDF pilot plant
at the BioComposites Centre consists of a continuous, pressurised
refiner, a blowline
connecting the refiner to a flash drier,
a former, cold pre-press and hot press. The throughput of the
refiner is between 30 and 60 kg/hr, depending on the raw material
being processed.
With
this pilot plant BC performed test on MDF board with bamboo as a
subcontractor in the FAIR project “Bamboo for Europe”.
MDF testing was performed by BC for University Gent,
contractor in the FAIR project.
The results of these tests indicated that bamboo was among
the best non-wood fibres for MDF.
Mr.
John D. Skinner is the principal
scientist involved in bamboo testing and leading scientist for the
Bamboo Thematic Network.
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