UVC Wood Color Customization Without VOCs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Natural ultraviolet-C (UVC) radiation does not reach Earth's surface, limiting its application in modifying wood appearance or sterilizing wood products, as it is blocked by the atmosphere, and existing methods using UVA and UVB radiation are inefficient and uncontrollable for achieving desired color changes in wood.
Innovation Solution
Applying calculated amounts of UVC radiation between 100-290 nanometers to wood products, either alone or in conjunction with wood extracts and metal ion solutions, to achieve customized color, lightness, or sterilization, using a system with multiple stations for spraying, drying, and irradiating wood with UVC at programmed intervals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If natural UVC radiation is used to modify wood appearance, then the wood can be rapidly altered in color and appearance, but the UVC radiation cannot reach Earth's surface due to atmospheric blocking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces artificial UVC light sources as intermediaries to deliver UVC radiation to the wood surface. Instead of relying on natural solar UVC that is blocked by the atmosphere, the system uses artificial lamps (such as mercury vapor lamps or LED UVC sources) as mediators to transmit UVC energy through the atmosphere and onto the wood, thereby overcoming the atmospheric blocking barrier while maintaining rapid color modification capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the natural physical process of solar radiation with an artificial mechanical/optical system. Rather than waiting for natural UVC from the sun, the system uses controllable artificial lighting devices that can be positioned and adjusted to deliver UVC radiation directly to the wood surface, substituting the uncontrollable natural phenomenon with a controllable engineered system
2Ease of manufacture
If UVA and UVB radiation are used to modify wood color, then the wood can be modified, but the process is inefficient and uncontrollable for achieving desired color changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of UV radiation wavelength from UVA/UVB (320-400nm and 280-320nm) to UVC (200-280nm). This parameter change enables more efficient and controlled wood modification because UVC has higher energy that specifically targets and modifies wood compounds like lignin and tannins, allowing precise control over color outcomes while significantly improving processing efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic or controlled exposure cycles of UVC radiation. The artificial UVC sources can be turned on and off, and their intensity and duration can be precisely controlled, allowing the process to proceed in manageable cycles that optimize color change while preventing excessive radiation damage, thereby improving both controllability and efficiency
3Adaptability or versatility
If traditional stains, varnishes, and paints are applied to wood, then the wood appearance can be customized, but volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are released
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes chemical coating methods (stains, varnishes, paints) with physical/photophysical methods. Instead of applying VOC-based chemicals that evaporate and create harmful fumes, the system uses UVC radiation to directly modify the wood's natural compounds, achieving color customization through photochemical reactions that produce no VOC emissions, thereby eliminating the harmful factor while maintaining customization capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the natural compounds in wood (lignin, tannins) that would normally require chemical masking into beneficial photoactive agents. These natural compounds, when exposed to UVC radiation, undergo controlled photochemical reactions that produce desired color changes without requiring external VOC-containing coatings, thereby turning potential harmful interactions into beneficial, clean customization processes
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method allows for a controlled, efficient, and rapid alteration of wood appearance, achieving desired color changes and sterilization without the use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), while also disinfecting the wood surface, offering a faster alternative to natural weathering processes.
Implementation Method 1
Photochemical interaction between the UVC radiation and various wood extracts, metal ion solutions, acids, bases, and oxidizers is also used to modify the color or lightness of a wood product
Implementation Method 2
UVC can be used as a germicidal disinfectant. With its higher energy, UVC can also uniquely drive photolytic, photoreductive, and photooxidative chemical reactions that cannot be driven by UVA and UVB
Implementation Method 3
UVC causes damage to the nucleic acids of microorganisms, preventing their replication, thereby destroying the microorganisms as pathogens of human disease
Implementation Method 4
The customized wood is free of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of stains, varnishes, and paints. The amount of UVC radiation to apply can be based on the tannin content of the wood or on other wood parameters or added photoactive agents
Data Source
AI summary
Ultraviolet-C (UVC) photochemistry for customizing an appearance of a wood product is described. In an implementation, a calculated amount of UVC radiation at a wavelength between 100-290 nanometers, for example, is applied to wood to achieve a desired appearance. The customized wood is free of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of stains, varnishes, and paints. The amount of UVC radiation to apply can be based on the tannin content of the wood or on other wood parameters or added photoactive agents. Photochemical interaction between the UVC radiation and various wood extracts, metal ion solutions, acids, bases, and oxidizers is also used to modify the color or lightness of a wood product. An example system includes multiple stations for programmatically spraying a wood product with various processing solutions, drying the wood, and irradiating the wood at one or more stages of the process with UVC radiation to interact with both the processing solutions and the wood surface, at programmed time intervals.