Prof. Dr. Carsten Mai


Research interests

  • Chemical treatment of wood component in wood-based materials for the targeted improvement of application-relevant properties, e.g. behaviour in outdoor weathering
  • Development, application, and analysis of novel binder systems for wood-based materials
  • Recycling of wood-based materials
  • Combination of wood-based materials with other materials
  • Interaction between chemical composition of the cell wall and specific wood properties

Projects

  • HyLight - Energy-efficient production of complex-shaped, multifunctional and recyclable lightweight products made of wood and bioplastics using automatic injection-moulding machines
  • OptiDaemm - Adaptation of the production parameters for wood fibre insulating materials to a changed wood species composition to optimise the product properties
  • DFG - Graduiertenkolleg 1703 - Ressourceneffizienz in Unternehmensnetzwerken - Methoden zur betrieblichen und überbetrieblichen Planung für die Nutzung erneuerbarer Rohstoffe
  • Recycle MDF - Recycling von Produktionsausschüssen aus der MDF-Platten Produktion zur Faserrückgewinnung
  • RiBe - Development of a weather-resistant and fire-resistant wood-based fibreboard as a carrier material for a concrete wear layer and production of a wood fibre concrete composite material for outdoor use
  • Ebenholz - Development of wood modification methods to replace ebony (Dispyros crassifolia) and grenadilla (Dalbergia melanoxylon) with native wood species in musical instrument making (synthetic Ebony wood)
  • Gerlau - Utilisation-oriented investigations of low-value hardwood assortments for the production of innovative products
  • KiriTec - Development of weight-reduced wood products based on kiri wood (Paulownia spp.)
  • WIPANO - Development of novel isocyanate-based acceleration systems for use in the wood-based panel industry
  • SIGNO - Dyeing of wood and wood-based materials with phenolic metal complexes
  • Fibre+ - Innovative Paper Packaging Products for European SMEs Based on Functional Modification of Recovered Fibres
  • IsoPoplar - Development of a mould-protected and biocide-free blow-in insulation based on poplar wood and cellulose flakes
  • modDäm - Production of wood fibre insulation boards with increased resistance to moisture and fungi from chemically modified fibres
  • PlasmaSpan - Plasma treatment of wood chips under atmospheric pressure for the development of particleboard with low emission potential
  • WoodSense - Developing and implementing formaldehyde online-senor systems in wood-based panel processing
  • Siloxan - Siloxanes for wood treatment
  • Platte - Development of plywood with increased fungal resistance for use as a floor slab in low-floor buses
  • HiM - Wood in seawater - Investigations into the durability of modified wood in marine construction, especially againstTeredo navalis
  • modWPC - Improvement of the dimensional stability and other material properties of extruded wood-plastic composites (WPC) for outdoor use by chemical modification of the wood filler
  • modHWS - Development of novel wood-based materials from chemically modified veneers, fibres and chips
  • Basidio - Characterization of the degradation patterns of chemically modified wood by wood-destructive basidiomycetes
  • Nano+ - Combined treatment of wood with nanoparticles
  • Hydrophob - Improvement of wood product properties by increased hydrophobicity obtained by the use of silicon compounds
  • Silan - Behandlung von Massivholz mit Silanverbindungen
  • KiefernStolz - Joint project: Sustainable utilisation potentials for pine heartwood Subprojects 5 and 6: Identification and development of products

Responsibilities


Teaching

Courses presented


Supervision of student theses (for reasons of data protection law, the authors names are withheld)

PhD theses

    2017

  • Production of laccase-mediator-bound wood fibre materials by means of an accelerated incubation process
  • Development of new low bulk density wood fibre insulation materials bonded with polyurethane
  • Technical lignins as bio-based starting material for the substitution of petroleum-based phenol in phenol-formaldehyde resins
  • Novel functional nanomaterials from stearoylated and undecenoated cellulose esters
  • Investigations into the durability of synthetic resin-modified wood when used in contact with seawater
  • 2016

  • Treatment of wood with siloxanes and metal micro-particle deposition using plasma technology
  • Development of lightweight, three-layer composite panels made from maize (agricultural raw material)
  • Impact of process conditions in open and closed reactor systems on the properties of thermally modified wood
  • Saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production with special emphasis on short rotation trees, forest hardwoods, and cascade used wood panels
  • Influence of impregnation, chemical and thermal wood modification on properties related to sorption, tensile strength and resistance to Fenton’s reagent
  • 2015

  • Formaldehyde in wood and wood-based materials - mechanisms of action, detection, and prediction methods
  • 2014

  • Development of multi-layer particleboard from low-value beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.) and wood assortments from short rotation plantations to relieve pressure on softwood supply
  • Development of low-emission particleboard with the addition of bark components of indigenous tree species
  • Treatment of solid wood with silanes, polydimethylsiloxanes and silica sols
  • 2013

  • Technological improvement of Portuguese pinewood by chemical modification
  • 2011

  • Properties of wood modified with glutaraldehyde
  • Development of lightweight, three-layer particleboard from a combination of the renewable raw materials maize and wood
Master theses

    2018

  • Production of OSB from (Paulownia tomentosa x fortunei), pine (Pinus sylvestris) and beech (Fagus sylvatica) strands using PMDI
  • Recovered Fibres from Melamine-Urea-Formaldehyde Bonded Fibreboards and Processing of the Fibres into Wood-Plastic-Composite
  • Preparation and Application of Dialdehyde Cellulose
  • 2017

  • Investigation into the use of low-value hardwood assortments in the production of PMDI bonded insulation boards
  • Characterisation of fibrous materials from low-grade hardwood and softwoods for the production of wood fibreboards
  • Staining of solid wood with phenol-iron complexes
  • 2016

  • Investigations into the application of isocyanate catalyzed with ammonium salts as an adhesive for medium density fibreboard (MDF)
  • Determination of the hydrolytic resistance and tensile stress resistance of melamine coatings (DPL) as a function of the degree of hardening
  • Process optimisation for phenol and melamine formaldehyde modification of birch veneers using atmospheric pressure plasma
  • Optimisation of the penetrating ability of decorative papers in the impregnation process, taking various influencing factors into account
  • 2015

  • Investigations into emissions from pyrolytic reactions in wood-based panel (OSB) drying
  • Constituents of grape oak (Quercus petraea LIEBL.) of various geographic locations
  • Examination of phenol-formaldehyde resin-isocyanate-modified beechwood
  • Improvement of the optical properties and dimensional stability of beech and pine wood by modification with phenol-formaldehyde resin and colouring additives
  • Modification of native woods with the aim of substituting ebony
  • Production and testing of single-layer particleboards bonded with gelatin and phenol-formaldehyde resin
  • Production of particleboard based on Kiri wood and pMDI adhesives
  • 2014

  • Principles of lignin utilzation and production of cell wall lignin fragments from sulfate-lignin
  • Increasing the durability and dimensional stability of birch plywood by modifying veneers with phenol-formaldehyde resin
  • 2013

  • Modification of softwood fibres with acetic anhydride in various concentrations for the production of medium density fibreboard (MDF)
  • Production and property determination of medium density fibreboard (MDF) from phenol-formaldehyde modified softwood fibres in various processes
  • Production of Kiri-based paricleboard
  • Aging behaviour of urea-formaldehyde adhesives
  • Improvement of the impregnability of wood veneers by plasma treatment under atmospheric pressure
  • 2012

  • Research on a method for the quantitative determination of formaldehyde emission from wood materials by coupling solid phase microextraction, gas chromatography and ion mobility spectroscopy
  • Vapothermal carbonization of digestate
  • Surface fungi on wood under the influence of a pulsed electric field
  • Physical and mechanical properties of phenolic resin-modified plywoods
  • Development of a durable plywood by modifying beech and poplar veneers with melamine-formaldehyde
  • Influence of melamine derivatives on selected properties of polypropylene and polyvinylchloride-based wood-plastic composites (WPC)
  • 2011

  • Characterisation of melamine-reinforced urea-formaldehyde resins - investigations into mechanical properties of particleboards
  • Thema: Das Proteom in Stiel und Hut der Fruchtkörper von Coprinopsis cinerea zum Zeitpunkt der Meiose
  • Development of methods for determining the properties of thermally modified wood
  • Immunohistochemical analysis of bordered pits of Pinus strobus L. using confocal and 4Pi microscopy
  • Process and material optimisation in wood pellet production using a laboratory pellet press
  • 2010

  • Comparison between different wood decay assessment methods
  • Investigation into incorrect gluing of veneer laminated timber
  • Assessment of infestation under GK 3 conditions in the block test
  • Chemical modification of pine fibres to produce moisture-resistant MDF
  • Hydrophobisation of chipboard by different wax emulsions
  • 2009

  • Effect of chain length on the properties of amino-silicone modified wood
  • Development of a modification process for beech veneers(Fagus sylvatica L.) based on glutaraldehyde
  • Production of wood fibre insulation boards with the addition of polyethyleneimine and examination of their mould resistance
  • Development of a composite material based on wood particles and silicone elastomers
  • 2008

  • Investigation and analysis of novel phenolresol- and furan resin-based adhesive systems
  • Investigations into the applicability of alkyl ketene dimers (AKD) as surface modifiers in the production of UF-bound particleboards
  • 2006

  • Theoretical background in the field of wood bonding and practical investigations on the gluability of Grand fir (Abies grandis)
Bachelor theses

    2022

  • Charakterisierung ausgewählter Laub- und Nadel Holzfasern zur Herstellung von Holzfaserdämmplatten
  • Zusammenfassung und Vergleich des derzeitigen Standes der Forschung zu Holzfaserdämmplatten aus- und mit beigemischtem Laubholz
  • 2018

  • Comparison of methods for determining the surface roughness and lift-off (removal) resistance of paints
  • 2017

  • Method development for testing the mechanical and physical properties of WPC compounds - an interlaboratory test
  • Comparison of technical properties of plywood panels with a central layer of Paulownia spp. and Picea abies
  • 2016

  • Influence of pressure and temperature during thermomodification on the composition of hemicelluloses inEucalyptus nitens
  • 2015

  • Thermohydrolytic digestion of UF resin and MUF resin bonded fibreboards
  • Fire retardant for solid wood
  • Potentials and restrictions of wood-polymer composites (WPC)
  • 2014

  • Thermoplastic wood-biopolymer composites
  • Evaluation of modified veneer plywood after seven years of outdoor exposure
  • 2012

  • Relationship between fibre saturation point, dimensional stability, and natural durability
  • Investigation of wood treatment with low molecular weight phenol-formaldehyde compounds
  • 2011

  • Influence of a combination of acetylation with a polysiloxane on the properties of modified wood
  • Evaluation of possible soil treatments to minimise the infestation potential on transmission pylons
  • 2010

  • Examination of thermosets and thermosets using DSC
  • Effects of DMDHEU and glutaraldehyde on the swelling and shrinkage behaviour ofPinus sylvestris
  • 2009

  • Paper surface treatment with nanofibrillated cellulose
  • Investigations into the bondability of thermally modified wood (TMT) for window-frame construction
  • 2008

  • Anti-fungal effectiveness of selected new environmentally friendly wood protection agents versus traditional agents - a screening test
  • Structure of the pulp and paper industry in Germany
  • Wood in contact with seawater on the German North Sea and Baltic Sea coast - wood pests, wood preservation, and wood species use
  • 2006

  • The natural durability of selected commercial tree species with emphasis on heartwood and application thereof

Publikationen