A Swiss-Iranian initiative to reduce indoor air pollution emitted by WBPs
Key takeaways
Leading House has supported this fruitful collaboration between BFH and TMU via the Seed Money Grant and the Mobility Grant projects. We hope that such bilateral programs between Switzerland and Iran will be continued to further deepen the scientific activities between the universities.
Leading House has supported this fruitful collaboration between BFH and TMU via the Seed Money Grant and the Mobility Grant projects. We hope that such bilateral programs between Switzerland and Iran will be continued to further deepen the scientific activities between the universities.
The relative impact of indoor air pollution has drastically raised, and thus indoor air quality has gained a lot of attention. One of the most critical pollutants in an indoor environment is formaldehyde which is emitted from furniture made by conventional wood-based panels (WBPs) like particleboard and fiberboard. The carcinogenic effects of formaldehyde on humans have been recently announced by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Hence, further usage of formaldehyde in WBPs is restricted by the Environmental Protection Agencies in various countries, especially in the US and Europe. Therefore, finding alternatives for the current formaldehyde-based adhesives is a major focus nowadays.
In 2018, the research teams from Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), Switzerland and Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), Iran have gained the opportunity to develop a mineral-based binder formulation, as an emerging class of environmentally friendly binder for WBPs, via a joint project funded by Leading House at ZHAW.
The collaboration between TMU and BFH was very beneficial and precious for both partners. The set goals were successfully achieved, and the personal relationships for continuing the joint work in various areas were intensified.
Leading House has supported this fruitful collaboration between BFH and TMU via the Seed Money Grant and the Mobility Grant projects. We hope that such bilateral programs between Switzerland and Iran will be continued to further deepen the scientific activities between the universities.
Overall and besides the aim of the project, it was planned to strengthen the academic relations between two collaborating universities (BFH and TMU). A special event that also took place within the Seed Money Grant from ZHAW was the visit of Heiko Thoemen in October 2019 to Iran. He visited Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) and had several meetings and workshops with students, scientific communities, as well as with technologists of the wood-based panel industry. Numerous exchanges between faculty, students and industrial participants were done via this fruitful collaboration. This has strengthened the already existing academic relations between two researchers (Heiko Thoemen from BFH and Ali Shalbafan from TMU).
With complimentary support from ZHAW (via Mobility grant funding), a PhD student from TMU also spent several months in 2019 at the Institute for Materials and Wood Technology, BFH. A novel lightweight foam-core fibreboard based on biodegradable materials was developed within this project.
In general, these joint research projects were a great success. Based on the obtained results from this project, two peer-reviewed publications were published in ISI journals. The collaborators are also jointly working on the preparation of a multidisciplinary and cross border proposal on the topic of “wood-mineral composites” for further collaborations.
Bilateral cooperation can mostly lead to combining the expertise and resources of scholars and help them to answer bigger and more complex scientific questions, develop new products and systems, and even enlarge their research fields. More funding possibilities for larger projects and over a longer period of time can have important influences on multidisciplinary research.
