SNS-107: Xylan modification for added value wood products (2009-2011)

Project leader: Docent Ewa Mellerowicz, ewa.mellerowicz@genfys.slu.se

Financing: 50.000 Euro/year for 3 years

Wood hemicelluloses are some of the most important components of biomass on the Earth, constituting approximately 25% of total wood biomass. Xylan is the main hemicellulose in hardwoods, and it also occurs in softwoods. Thus, its structure is likely to have major effects on properties of raw wood materials, e.g. its pulping/delignification properties and mechanical parameters.

The project “Xylan modification for added value wood products” will utilize genetic engineering to modify the structure and content of xylan, and establish how these modifications affect wood properties. The modified xylan may be used to produce custom-tailored wood properties.

Aspen will be the main species used for the studies, which involve partners from Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The project is an extension of a previous project on poplar xylan within the Wood-Wisdom network.