"Microwave-expanded wood" passes new product evaluation

On June 24, 2018, the China Forest Products Industry Association organized experts in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, to conduct a new product appraisal of "microwave expanded wood," jointly developed by the Research Institute of Wood Industry of the Chinese Academy of Forestry and Nanjing Forestry University. This new product has already been put into production on a production line at Zhejiang Fudeli Wood Industry Co., Ltd.

The appraisal meeting was chaired by Shi Feng, Secretary-General of the China Forest Products Industry Association. The appraisal expert committee consisted of experts including Academician Jiang Jianchun of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor-level Senior Engineer Wu Xiaosong of the Rural Economy Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, Professor-level Senior Engineer Shi Feng, Secretary-General of the China Forest Products Industry Association, Professor-level Senior Engineer Zhang Zhongtao, Director of the First Design Institute of the Forest Products Industry Design Institute of the State Forestry Administration, Professor-level Senior Engineer Fang Chongrong, Deputy Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Forest Products Quality Inspection Station, Professor-level Senior Engineer He Zhihua, Director of the Science and Technology Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Forestry Department, and Professor Jin Chunde, Dean of the College of Engineering of Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University.

The expert panel inspected the production line and process of "microwave-expanded wood" at Zhejiang Fudeli Wood Industry Co., Ltd.; examined samples of microwave-expanded wood; and listened to a report from Fu Feng, the research and development leader and director of the Wood Industry Research Institute, covering the research background, technical challenges and innovations, intellectual property rights, application and promotion, and future development. The participating experts and representatives from the research unit engaged in a lively discussion on the market application prospects of the new product. After review, questioning, and discussion, the evaluation committee unanimously concluded that the product, employing continuous tunnel-type high-intensity microwave treatment technology for wood, yielded expanded wood with significantly improved permeability and uniformly separated weak points, achieving controllable functional body introduction channels and solving problems such as difficult and uneven wood impregnation. The new product demonstrates strong innovation from its research concept to its key technologies, reaching international advanced levels, and has broad prospects for promotion and application. Further efforts to accelerate its commercialization are recommended.

Microwave-expanded wood is based on the innovative theory of weak phase separation in the wood matrix. The wood is placed in a microwave tunnel field, where high-energy microwaves rapidly vaporize the internal moisture, breaking through the weak internal structures and creating a new fluid channel system. This new product is developed based on the results of 12 years of research, including projects from the "12th Five-Year Plan" National Science and Technology Support Program. Microwave-expanded wood opens up new avenues for improving the quality and utilization of plantation timber in my country and replacing rare tree species. It can effectively alleviate the shortage of hardwood timber in my country and meets the requirements of the National Science and Technology Innovation Plan for "Forestry Resource Cultivation and Efficient Utilization." Microwave-expanded wood can be promoted and applied in the wood processing industry, especially in the fields of solid wood flooring and wood products, effectively increasing the added value and market competitiveness of wood products, overcoming low-price competition from homogeneous products, meeting diversified market demands, and showing good prospects for production, application, and commercialization. Currently, the Wood Industry Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Forestry has applied for four invention patents and is conducting research and development on a series of microwave-expanded wood application products.

Researcher Lü Bin, deputy director of the Wood Industry Research Institute, expressed his gratitude to the experts and leaders for attending the meeting, and stated that under the leadership of relevant departments, he would fully support the technological transformation of microwave expanded wood and accelerate the application scale of new products.