Reuse of Discarded Wood and Alternative Wood Species to Replace Spruce in the Development of Wooden Windows for Complete Disassembly (REWINNUSE)

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

Increased application of circular economy principles

Measures for circular economy implemented

Reuse of Discarded Wood and Alternative Wood Species to Replace Spruce in the Development of Wooden Windows for Complete Disassembly

REWINNUSE

M SORA, trade and production, Plc

Partner 1: University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical faculty
Partner 2: Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NOR)
Partner 3: Slovenian Forestry Institute

01/05/2022

30/04/2024

Development of new features and technological procedures for production of windows on the basis of dry glazing solutions (involving no talc, with mechanical joints for easy window disassembly); hardware/software implementation and optimization of work processes to increase energy and production efficiency in production process; discontinued use of adhesives and silicones and reduced consumption of aluminium; reduced consumption of energy for heating with more thermally efficient windows; development of glued panels and new solutions from used wood of old windows, waste pieces from production and used wooden beams; research of mechanical properties and resistance to external factors of glued panels and window prototypes made of wood species of chestnut, steamed blackthorn, poplar, Douglas fir, pine and aged wood; production of glued panels and a new window model from alternative wood species; awareness-raising among the general public and promotion of the concept of circular economy.

The project focuses on implementing circular economy and enforcing the principles of circular economy in the wood processing industry and beyond. The first strand of the project covers the development of a new wooden window design featuring dry bonding solutions (elimination of the use of adhesives and silicones), which allows easy disassembly of the window to basic components and reuse of these components after the end of the product’s lifecycle. The second strand focuses on finding an alternative wood species to replace spruce, and on recovering wood for reuse. The size of spruce forest is expected to shrink due to climate change in the coming decades. The project aims to introduce sustainable principles in the design of wooden products, in production processes and woodworking practice. It also addresses the challenges connected with lack of spruce wood, changes in tree structure, lack of silicone, development of windows for easy disassembly and reuse of components after the end of their lifecycle. The project also tackles non-ergonomic workplaces and inefficiency of work processes. More concretely, the project aims at reducing material consumption and use of hazardous substances, increasing the level of recyclability and reuse of materials after the end of their lifecycle and optimizing work processes.