A free service that prepares construction companies for the low carbon market.
Although the utilisation of the forest environment and the processing of wood are amongst the oldest industries in existence, the last 15 years has seen a renewed interest in forests, wood and in particular cellulose.
Wood is made of tiny cellulose fibres and the natural glue that holds them together called lignin. Due to key properties such as purity and strength cellulose is widely used as a thickener and stabilizer in foods, to make spun fibres, coatings, polymers, and even state-of-the-art nanocomposites.
In Scotland and throughout the world there is an array of research underway into tree biotechnology to learn more about the renewable raw material of cellulose and investigate what other sustainable uses it could have.
The use of wood as a Construction material certainly isn't new but cellulose fibres could be used as an building insulation material.
Cellulose Chemical Sciences applications could be further expanded into bioplastics and even used to make tyres that could potentially be cheaper, more efficient and offer greater performance.
In the Life Sciences sector, Microbial cellulose shows vast potential as a wound dressing material due it's strength and physical properties derived from a unique nanostructure and never-dry membrane.
Currently used in the manufacture of semi-synthetic and biodegradable Textiles, rayon and lyocell, marked as TenCel, the unique properties of cellulose could see it being used as a 'smart material' in applications such as balistic body armour.
A shift from reliance on fossil fuels has seen growth in renewable forms of Energy generation, and with that woodenergy/biomass, however scientists have found wood could also be used to produce ethanol and hydrogen.
The market for low carbon products is growing rapidly - and timber is one of the key products in this growth market.
Aimed at training more engineers who want to work with the unique, low carbon resource that is timber. The course is unique in the UK and helps develop engineers with the diverse range of skills needed to become a competent and resourceful timber engineer (equipped with the relevant training in the : analysis, design & assessment of timber structural systems).
For further information see Edinburgh Napier University.