This technology, also known as eco-welding, could help to reduce drastically the ecologically harmful use of synthetic wood glues. More than three million tonnes of these glues are used every year in Europe alone.
In wood welding, temperatures of between 180 and 230 °C cause the lignin resin, which is wood's stabilising material, to melt. The liquid lignin penetrates into the underlying parts of the wood that are not heated, causing it surfacing bonding after cooling. High-strength joins can be created in a matter of seconds in this way. Eco-welding was originated by researchers at Berne's University of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering, and their French partners at the University of Nancy and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA).
Source and information: www.hsb.bfh.ch/hsb/de/direktion/presse (de/fr)