Noir&Sens: recovering regional woods by surface burning

The Noir&Sens project, financed by the Centre-Val-de-Loire Region within the framework of the European Innovation Programme 2017, aims to develop a solution for the surface heat treatment of regional woods in order to enhance their value. For this, in partnership with Scierie Moreau, Art&Progress, La Racine and Itech System, FCBA prepared 120 samples of burnt wood: 5 wood species, 3 levels of burning and 7 different finishes. Particular attention was paid to the choice of finishes to evaluate products with significantly different characteristics in order to assess the evolution of the samples’ appearance over time.

The objective was to evaluate the suitability of these solutions for use in cladding or for interior use (furniture, decoration, parquet, etc.). Various tests were therefore carried out:

• for outdoor use: reaction to fire, natural and artificial ageing test
• for indoor use: ball impact and light resistance for indoor use

The results obtained show interesting prospects for both outdoor and indoor use. For exterior use, the colour will tend to change over time and the application of a finish can affect the appearance of the cladding. For interior use, the application of a finish is essential when the user is in contact with the burnt wood. While this initial work is interesting, key points still need to be validated with regard to the industrialisation of the process developed, particularly the problem of dust extraction.

Watch a video presenting this project: