Wood science is the scientific field which predominantly studies and investigates elements associated with the formation, the physical and chemical composition, and the macro- and microstructure of
wood
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
as a bio-based and lignocellulosic material. Wood science additionally delves into the biological, chemical, physical, and mechanical properties and characteristics of
wood
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
as a
natural
Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...
material
A material is a matter, substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an Physical object, object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical property, physical ...
.
Deep understanding of wood plays a pivotal role in several endeavors such as the processing of wood, the production of wood-based materials like
particleboard
Particle board, also known as particleboard or chipboard, is an engineered wood product, belonging to the wood-based panels, manufactured from wood chips and a synthetic, mostly formaldehyde-based resin or other suitable binder, which is pressed ...
,
fiberboard
Fiberboard (American English) or fibreboard (Commonwealth English) is a type of engineered wood product that is made out of wood fibers. Types of fiberboard (in order of increasing density) include particle board or low-density fiberboard (LDF ...
plywood
Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...
and other materials, as well as the utilization of wood and wood-based materials in
construction
Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...
furniture
Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...
Initial comprehensive investigations in the field of wood science emerged at the start of the 20th century. In 1902, the Wood Processing Laboratory was founded in the Department of Forestry at Tokyo University and academic studies on wood processing were first initiated. The Forest and Forest Products Research Institute in Tokyo was also established in 1905. In 1906 the Forest Products Research Institute was created in
Dehradun
Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
The advent of contemporary wood research commenced in 1910, when the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) was established in Madison,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, USA. The Forest Products Laboratory played a fundamental role in wood science providing scientific research on wood and wood products in partnership with academia, industry, local and other institutions in North and South America and worldwide.
In the following years, many wood research institutes came into existence across almost all industrialized nations. A general overview of these institutes and laboratories is shown below:
* 1913: Institute of Wood and Pulp Chemistry Eberswalde (today's Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development), Germany
* 1913: Forest Products Laboratory Montreal, Canada
* 1918: Forest Products Laboratory Vancouver, Canada
* 1919: Forest Products Laboratory Melbourne, Australia
* 1923: Department of Mechanics and Wood Technology, University of Sopron, Hungary
* 1923: Forest Products Research Laboratory, Princes Risborough,
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
* 1929: Institute for Wood Science and Technology, Leningrant, St. Petersburg,
USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
* 1933: Centre Technique du Bois,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France
* 1936: Wood Department of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing in Zurich (today's Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology), Switzerland
* 1942: Laboratory of Wood Technology Helsinki, Finland
* 1944: Swedish Forest Products Research Laboratory, former TRÄTEK (today's Research Institutes of Sweden), Sweden
* 1946: Latvian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Wood Chemistry, Latvia
* 1946: Institute for Wood Research, iVTH (today's Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research), Germany
* 1947: State Wood Research Institute Bratislava, Slovakia
* 1947: Forest Research Institute – Rotorua (today's Scion),
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
* 1948: Austrian Wood Research Institute Vienna (today's Holzforschung Austria), Austria
* 1949: Norwegian Institute of Wood Technology, Norway
* 1950: Federal Institute for Forestry and Forest Products (today's Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute), Germany
* 1952: Institute for Wood Technology and Fibers (today's Institute for Wood Technology Dresden),
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
* 1952: Institute for Wood Research and Wood Technology (today's Wood Research Munich), Germany
* 1954: Faculty of Wood Technology, Poznan University (today's Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at Poznan),
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
From the '60s, the founding of research institutes in the field of wood sciences continued in many universities, and also in universities of applied sciences and technological universities. Today, the International Academy of Wood Science (IAWS), a recognised and non-profit assembly of wood scientists, represents worldwide the scientific area of wood science and all of its associated technological domains.
Sub-areas
The field of wood science can be categorized into three distinct sub-areas, which include:
* ''Wood biology'', a subset of wood science which focuses on the formation, structure and composition of wood tissues. It involves investigations conducted at the macroscopic, microscopic, and molecular levels. Additionally, this sub-field encompasses wood anatomy which involves the (macroscopic - microscopic) identification of various wood species.
* ''Wood chemistry'', whose primary focus is the analysis of the chemical constituents comprising wood, with specific emphasis on
cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...
,
lignin
Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidit ...
, hemicelluloses, and extractives, as well as on the various products derived from these components. It is also explores potential uses for pulp and paper production, the utilization of wood and wood waste, the generation of energy and chemicals from pulping byproducts, and the conversion of biomass.
* ''Wood physics'', which constitutes an essential component of the field of wood science, building upon discoveries in wood chemistry, wood anatomy (xylem), and biology, as well as principles from
classical physics
Classical physics refers to physics theories that are non-quantum or both non-quantum and non-relativistic, depending on the context. In historical discussions, ''classical physics'' refers to pre-1900 physics, while '' modern physics'' refers to ...
,
mechanics
Mechanics () is the area of physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among Physical object, physical objects. Forces applied to objects may result in Displacement (vector), displacements, which are changes of ...
, and materials strength. Wood physics encompasses critical research areas including: a) examining wood behaviour in relation to moisture, which involves fundamental aspects of moisture absorption, swelling, and shrinkage, b) investigating the impact of
temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...
on wood properties, encompassing
heat conduction
Thermal conduction is the diffusion of thermal energy (heat) within one material or between materials in contact. The higher temperature object has molecules with more kinetic energy; collisions between molecules distributes this kinetic energy u ...
and heat storage, and c) assessing the mechanical, rheological, and acoustic properties and qualities of both wood and wood-based products.
Laser guided cutting of wood inside modern woodmill.jpg, Inside a modern
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, truckskiln dryer is typically utilized in the
drying
Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be consider ...
of green timber, applying a procedure which involves fundamental principles of
physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
.
RailroadTiesBeforeAfterCreosoteSantaFeRRAlbuquerqueNM.jpg, Railroad wooden ties that are fully impregnated with creosote through a process known as ''pressure treatment'', which is a common method for preserving wood.
Steambox.jpg, Steam bending is a
woodworking
Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinetry, furniture making, wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning.
History
Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked b ...
technique, under which,
wood
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
is exposed to
steam
Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
and its basic polymer,
lignin
Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidit ...
is softened.
Spruce plywood.JPG,
Plywood
Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...
, a wood panel typically bonded with formaldehyde-based resins ( UF, PF), is widely utilized for interior and exterior applications.
Akoya 2009.jpg, Specimen of acetylated wood (''Accoya'') resulting from the
acetylation
:
In chemistry, acetylation is an organic esterification reaction with acetic acid. It introduces an acetyl group into a chemical compound. Such compounds are termed ''acetate esters'' or simply ''acetates''. Deacetylation is the opposite react ...
reaction of
wood
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
and
acetic anhydride
Acetic anhydride, or ethanoic anhydride, is the chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula . Commonly abbreviated , it is one the simplest organic acid anhydride, anhydrides of a carboxylic acid and is widely used in the production of c ...
represents a novel development following decades of
research
Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...
.
Многослойная клееная деревянная панель Райн Александр Дмитриевич.jpg, Specimen of cross-laminated timber (CLT), a novel
engineered wood
Engineered wood, also called mass timber, composite wood, man-made wood, or manufactured board, includes a range of derivative wood products which are manufactured by binding or fixing the strands, particles, fibres, veneers, or boards of wood, ...
product for big construction projects (i.e. buildings), which was developed during the ‘90s.
Kebony terrassebord 2.JPG, Terrace built with furfurylated wood (''Kebony'') resulting from the chemical modification of pine wood by
furfuryl alcohol
Furfuryl alcohol is an organic compound containing a furan substituted with a hydroxymethyl group. It is a colorless liquid, but aged samples appear amber. It possesses a faint odor of burning and a bitter taste. It is miscible with but unstabl ...
; this presents today a novel green technology.
Pellets_hand.jpg,
Wood pellets
Pellet fuels (or pellets) are a type of solid fuel made from compressed organic material. Pellets can be made from any one of five general categories of Biomass (energy), biomass: industrial waste and co-products, food waste, Crop residue, agricul ...
, a type of important
solid fuel
Solid fuel refers to various forms of solid material that can be burnt to release energy, providing heat and light through the process of combustion. Solid fuels can be contrasted with liquid fuels and gaseous fuels. Common examples of solid fu ...
nowadays, is produced from compressed wood residues through pelletizing, involving the softening of
lignin
Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidit ...
Cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...
Forest Products Journal
The ''Forest Products Journal'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on the science and technology of wood and forest products. It is the official journal of the Forest Products Society and has been published since 1951.
The jo ...
* Peter Niemz, Alfred Teischinger, Dick Sandberg (2023). ''Springer Handbook of Wood Science and Technology'', Springer 2023, ISBN 978-3-030-81314-7.
* George Tsoumis (2009). ''Science and Technology of Wood - Structure, Properties, Utilization''. Publishing House Kessel, ISBN 9783941300224.
* Callum A.S. Hill (2006): ''Wood Modification: Chemical, Thermal and Other Processes.'' Wiley 2006, ISBN 0-470-02172-1.
* Franz F.P. Kollmann, Edward W. Kuenzi, Alfred J. Stamm (1975). ''Principles of Wood Science and Technology'' II., Springer 1975, ISBN 978-3-642-87933-3.