The deforestation of tropical forests creates great problems: First, living spaces are eliminated and the extinction of species accelerated, and secondly the clearing of the land represents a massive interference in the climate and materials cycle. For some time it has been possible to determine the legality status of imported woods and wood products. But there is still a need for a manageable means of detecting and tracking down illegal paper and wood pulp sources in the tropics. Worldwide some 400 million tons of paper are produced annually. An indeterminate percentage of that amount contains illegally logged tropical woods – therefore a means of establishing the origin of woods is urgently needed. Thus an unmistakable assessment of wood types was hardly possible up to now.
The Technical University of Darmstadt (Technische Universität Darmstadt) is working on a research project which should result in the development of methods for the fast and unmistakable identification of tree types in paper and wood pulp products. Cooperating partners in the project are the Center for Wood Industry and Chemical Wood Technology of the University of Hamburg (Zentrum Holzwirtschaft – Chemische Holztechnologie der Universität Hamburg) and the ISEGA Society for Research and Investigation (ISEGA Forschungs- und Untersuchungsgesellschaft, Aschaffenburg).
In the first phase, a »fiber atlas« for at least 20 to 30 relevant tropical woods is to be created. Eventually the paper engineers hope to come up with an image recognition process with which the fibers can be identified. In a third phase, the light microscopy is to be automated to the fullest possible extent, in order to reduce the expenditure of time and the costs in paper inspection.
Project Operation:
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Fachgebiet Papierfabrikation und
Mechanische Verfahrenstechnik PMV
Alexanderstraße 8
64283 Darmstadt
Telefon 06151|16-2154
www.pmv.tu-darmstadt.de
pmv@papier.tu-darmstadt.de
Cooperation Partner:
Ref. 29436
