UDA-RPWP.01.04.02-30-036/14-00 – Providing the laboratory with apparatus

In 2015 the Wood Technology Institute implemented a project entitled:

“Providing the laboratory with apparatus allowing the determination of the elemental content
in innovative biomaterials in order to extend the range of R&D services”

UDA-RPWP.01.04.02-30-036/14-00
co-financed under the European Regional Development Fund within
Priority I “Competitiveness of enterprises”
Measure 1.4. “Support for projects related to the Regional Innovation Strategy”
Scheme II “The research and development infrastructure of the Wielkopolska Regional Operational Programme for 2007-2013

The project was aimed at purchasing research equipment necessary for the provision of R&D services consisting in the determination of elemental content in biomaterials, i.e. materials of natural origin (mainly wood).

The determination of elemental composition of materials which are new or known but come from new sources (e.g. through recycling) is usually the research task necessary at the stage of the assessment of their suitability for a given application in the light of the need to comply with certain standards.

The new range of services developed by the Wood Technology Institute is primarily addressed to entrepreneurs operating in the fields that make use of or manage biomaterials (biomass, biofuels, waste and its recycling products, furniture, construction timber) and includes the following types of R&D work:

1. Determination of the elemental content in solid biofuels
2. Determination of the elemental content in recovered fuels
3. Determination of the elemental content in waste
4. Determination of the elemental content in materials for the finishing of furniture surfaces
5. Determination of the elemental content in construction materials
6. Determination of the elemental content in children’s toys and furniture
7. Determination of the elemental content in ashes from the combustion of solid fuels (biomass, fossil fuels, waste)
8. Examining the migration of toxic elements during extreme natural phenomena (e.g. floods) in plants exposed to such phenomena (e.g. trees)
9. Examining the impact of anthropogenic pressures on the elemental content in plants, e.g. the impact of industrial immissions on the elemental composition of plants
10. Determination of the elemental content in historic and archaeological wood
11. Determination of the elemental content in organic fertilisers (e.g. composts)
12. Determination of the elemental content, where elements are ingredients in wood preservatives

As part of the implemented project, 8 tangible assets where purchased, making up 3 apparatus sets:

• Apparatus set 1: an AAS spectrometer for determining the elemental content, with a sample digestion device (in particular for determining the metal content, e.g. arsenic, gold, calcium, cobalt, copper, iron, mercury, potassium, sodium, lead, silicon, selenium, tin, zinc, titanium)

1. A stationary device for the microwave digestion of analytical samples – 1 piece.
2. A system consisting of two AAS spectrometers – 1 set.

• Apparatus set 2: an ion chromatograph for the analysis of anions, coupled with a combustion furnace (for determining the presence of elements such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine, nitrogen, sulphur)

1. A gradient ion chromatograph – 1 set
2. Automatic quick combustion furnace – 1 set
3. Water demineralisation device – 1 piece

• Apparatus set 3: a set of devices for the grinding and fractionation of samples prepared for analyses

1. Universal knife grinder – 1 set
2. Horizontal shaker – 1 set
3. Cyclone – 1 piece

Above equipment supplements the apparatus currently in possession of the Wood Technology Institute and provides the possibility for conducting both commissioned and own R&D work in the broadly defined field of environmental protection (including: the assessment of the environmental impact of products and manufacturing waste), quality assessment, and safety of the manufactured biomaterials. Activities in this respect concern issues such as:

• the assessment of the hygienic safety of wood industry products (e.g. the leachability of heavy metals, especially out of children’s products; the content of trace elements in industrial products);
• the safety of wood industry products with regard to the use of chemical technologies (e.g. the permissible content of heavy metals in wood products protected against biological corrosion);
• the assessment of environmental hazards posed by waste generated in the technological processes of wood and wood material treatment;
• the assessment of risks to humans and the environment posed by the processes of wood waste recovery and treatment;
• the production and application of solid biofuels and solid recovered fuels with the use of plant biomass;
• the attestation and certification of solid biofuels and solid recovered fuels;
• the production of composts from residues and remnants of plant waste materials;
• other related activities which require the determination of the content of chemical elements exerting an adverse impact on both technological processes and the environment.

Project Manager
Magdalena Witczak, PhD
+48 61 849 24 78
magdalena.witczak@itd.lukasiewicz.gov.pl