Valorizing wood and derived products in terms of process and product innovation, grading, certification, performance analysis and ecological values

The research of the group deals with several areas of wood technology and forest operations, among which:

• techniques and equipments for forest operations
• safety in forest operations
• supply, properties and emissions of wood for energetic use
• wood anatomy and identification
• relations between silvicultural treatments and wood quality
• grading of timber and semifinished products and assessment of their suitability for different applications, also by determining their technological and performance properties
• development of innovative wood-based products and manufacturing processes, particularly aimed at valorizing national forest resources, poplar cultivation and wood arboriculture
• acoustic properties of wood and derived products
• formation and training for operators in the forest-wood supply chain
• technology transfer to the wood processing sector
• normative and certification (quality, environment, sustainable forest management and chain of custody, Due Diligence, CE marking, ISPM-15).

• Wood in Sport Equipment - Heritage, present, perspective. World Wood Day Foundation, 2021-2022
• Valorization of sweet chestnut timber in Piedmont (CASTAGNOPIÙ) – Rural Development Program 2014-2020 of Piemonte Region– Measure 16.2.1
• Study of the flows and consumption of firewood on a valley scale, and of the implementation and management of a mark and certification (Bio.For.UMAG) - Rural Development Program 2014-2020 of Piemonte Region– Measure 16.6.1
• Short chain in the biomass-wood sector: supply, traceability, certification and carbon sequestration. Innovations for bio-building and energy efficiency (PRIN 2015)
• "TermoVuoto" thermal treatment of poplar veneers and plywood (THERMOPOPLARPLY) – Rural Development Program 2007-2013 of Piemonte Region - Action 124.2

• Calvano S., Negro F., Ruffinatto F., Zanuttini-Frank D., Zanuttini R. (2023). Use and sustainability of wood in acoustic guitars: an overview based on the global market. Helyion 9(4): e15218. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15218.
• Negro F., Bigando R., Ruffinatto F., Zanuttini R. (2022). Technical assessment of the bonding quality of composite plywood with a thin cork core. Forests 13: 1839. doi: 10.3390/f13111839.
• Negro F., Espinoza O., Brunori A., Cremonini C., Zanuttini R. (2021). Professionals’ feedback on the PEFC fair supply chain project activated in Italy after the “Vaia” windstorm. Forests 12: 946. doi: 10.3390/f12070946.
• Brunetti M., Nocetti M., Pizzo B., Negro F., Aminti G., Burato P., Cremonini C., Zanuttini R. (2020). Comparison of different bonding parameters and combined beech-spruce CLT by standard and optimized test methods. Construction and Building Materials 265: 120168. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120168
• Zanuttini R., Castro G., Cremonini C., Negro F., Palanti S. (2020). Thermo-vacuum treatment of Poplar (Populus spp.) plywood. Holzforschung 74(1): 60-67. doi: 10.1515/hf-2019-0049.

CONLEGNO (Italy)
IBE-CNR (Italy)
SISEF (Italy)
CIRAD - Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (France)
SWST – International Society of Wood Science and Technology (USA)
Forest Products Laboratory (USA)
University of Minnesota - Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering (USA)