Synergistic Effects of Densification and Fire Retardant Treatment on Wood Veneer Products

This PhD project focuses green chemistry fire retardant pretreatment of veneers before densification to optimize the densification process and increase the durability and fire performance. The aim is to design and apply comprehensive characterization methods to show stainable, durable, fire-resistant veneer-based products from underutilized wood species.

The project addresses the following research questions: To what extent can fire performance be improved through densification without the use of synthetic fire retardants? What are the environmental impacts and sustainability metrics of the proposed densification process? How do changes in microstructure and chemical composition correlate with performance improvements? What new sustainable fire-retardant chemical can be used for densified veneers?

The project will address the following key areas: