Dr. Lukas Emmerich


Research interests

  • Chemical wood modification
  • Impregnation
  • Drying and Curing
  • Process development
  • Weathering and durability testing
  • Flame protection (solid wood)
  • Moisture monitoring of structures

Dissertation

  • Wood modification with cyclic N-methylol compounds - Optimization of process control and material properties for outdoor applications
  • 1. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Holger Militz
  • 2. Supervisor: Dr. Gry Alfredsen

Projects

  • PlanaWood 2 - Functionalisation of wood and wood-based materials
  • DuraHome - Development and market introduction of innovative, durable terrace deckings and facade claddings with an increased surface hardness
  • FiRetWood - Development of innovative fire protection agents using textile cross-linking chemicals for wooden building components in outdoor applications
  • Projects with the chemical and wood industry - Development of durable, dimensionally stable materials with increased flame retardancy for indoor and outdoor applications

Responsibilities

  • Impregnation plant (wood modification)
  • High temperature dryer (pilot plant – curing processes for wood modification)
  • Dynamic Vapour Sorption (DVS for the determination of sorption isotherms)
  • Water absorption and desorption tests
  • Investigations on dynamic strength properties
  • Weathering performance (accelerated and field testing)

Committee work

  • PhD student representative on the Faculty Council of the Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology (since 2017)
  • Activity manager in the Association for Wood Science & Wood Use e.V. (since 2018)

Teaching

Courses presented


Supervision of student theses (for reasons of data protection law, the authors names have been made anonymous)

Bachelor theses

    2023

  • Impact of chemical and thermal wood modifications on the moisture behaviour of soft- and hardwoods
  • Investigations on the mechanical properties of silicone oil treated Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood
  • Production of dimensional stable veneer-based composites with durable fire protection
  • Improving the treatability of native hardwood and softwood species
  • Development of wood moisture content in Norway spruce terrace elements - Influence of slope, soiling and water traps
  • Studies of optical methods for quantifying the wood fracture in glue lines
  • Structural integrity of wood - Creating a database for tropical and European-grown wood species
  • Impact of the wood moisture content on the impact bending strength tested by a pendulum impact test
  • Impact of cell wall modifications on the capillary water uptake of wood
  • Improving the fixation of boron in wood by combinations with sorbitol/glycerin and citric acid
  • 2022

  • Investigation of factors influencing the determination of the oven-dry density of wood
  • Wood modification with various polycarboxylic acids and polyols
  • TPC as penetration enhancer in spruce wood
  • Determination of resistance characteristics for electrical moisture content measurements above cell wall saturation
  • Impact of wood moisture content on the structural integrity of wood under dynamic loads in the over-hygroscopic range
  • Impact of the wood moisture content in the hygroscopic range on the structural integrity of wood during dynamic impacts
  • 2021

  • Acid catalysis and its impact on the fixation of cyclic N-methylol and N-methyl compounds in wood

    2020

  • Evaluation of the moisture performance of wood-based materials in outdoor applications

    2019

  • Beeinflussung ausgewählter statischer und dynamischer Eigenschaften von mit verschiedenen glyoxal-basierten Vernetzern behandeltem Massivholz – Ein Methodenvergleich
  • Untersuchung hydraulischer Effekte durch Imprägnierung von Holz mit Ölen und Wachsen
  • Comparative tests of the adsorption and desorption properties of wood outdoors
  • Mechanical and physical properties of wood treated with DMDHEU in combination with selected silicon and wax compounds
  • Changes in selected static and dynamic mechanical properties of solid wood modified with distinct glyoxal crosslinking agents – A comparative study

    2018

  • Conception and manufacturing of wooden structural elements for assessing the impact of microclimate and material selection on the moisture induced risk for fungal decay
  • Comparative tests of the adsorption and desorption properties of untreated and differently chemically modified timbers
  • Resistance of wood against dynamic mechanical loads – Database for Europe-grown and tropical wood species
  • Determination of resistance characteristics for electrical moisture content measurements in modified timber

Master theses

    2023

  • Rot-type specific impact of fungal decay on the structural integrity of wood
  • Adhesion properties of modified softwood and hardwood species
  • 2022

  • Wood modification with citric acid and sugar alcohols – Optimization of the drying and curing process
  • Investigations on the storage stability and reusability of aqueous solutions of impregnation resins
  • 2021

  • Investigations on the growth behaviour and wood degradation of decay fungi in preservative treated wood
  • Wood modification with citric acid and sugar alcohols- Process control and Quality control

    2020

  • Investigations on the growth behaviour, wood degradation and translocation of nitrogen compounds by wood-destroying fungi in DMDHEU-modified wood
  • Comparative studies on the durability of Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris L.) modified with nitrogen containing crosslinking agents combined with stabilizing and softening agents
  • Physical and mechanical properties of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) after thermal and chemical (DMDHEU) modification and a combination of both treatment methods

    2018

  • Wood modification of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood with one-component and two-component flame retardant systems from textile application

Project theses

    2023

  • Laboratory studies on the moisture dynamics in untreated, modified and preservative treated wood
  • 2022

  • Impact of chemical wood modification with DMDHEU on the physical and mechanical properties of European softwood and hardwood species
  • 2020

  • Investigation on the migration of the modification agent in DMDHEU modified wood
  • 2019

  • Investigation on the embrittlement of wood by modification with cross-linking resins depending on the catalyst system
  • 2018

  • Effects of wood modification with cross-linking N-methylol, N-methyl and polyurethane-compounds on the moisture performance of Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris L.)

Publications