Optical infrared detection of contaminations in recovered wood

The current situation on the wood market is characterized by a growing market and increasing prices of virgin as well as used wood. At the moment about 80 % of the German recovered wood is directly burned and mainly used for energy production, only 20 % is recycled and typically used for particleboard production. Because of this material lack in the wood industry and increasing prices, the demand for clean recovered wood and therefore the need for effective online sorting techniques are growing. Within a WoodWisdom project called "Demowood" which is financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) different techniques are tested to recognize if they are suited for a later sorting technique of wood in different categories.