911±¬ÁÏÍø

Course information

Learning outcomes

After this course students are able to:

• describe the role of forests in the carbon cycle and the potential of wood products as carbon storage
• differentiate the main forest operations methods and material flows in the forest bioeconomy
• list the common work phases of life-cycle analysis
• calculate carbon storage potential of wood
• know the basic macro-level structure of wood and describe the basics of wood grain orientation
• describe how moisture influences wood dimensional changes and strength and explain these phenomena based on cell-level interaction
• describe the basic influence of grain angle, knots and other natural features of wood on its movement, appearance, and mechanical properties
• list the most common wood products and their typical applications
• are able to describe the most common wood products and their typical applications

Content

Students on this course will learn about global carbon sources and sinks and the role of forests in the carbon cycle. This course introduces students to the different uses of forests and the raw material flows in the bioeconomy, as well as the potential of wood products in carbon storage. The general rules of life-cycle analysis are introduced, including selected work phases, such as calculating carbon storage potential in the case of wood. Students are introduced to the basic principles of sustainable forestry and circular bioeconomy, with wood as an example.

The basic structure of wood is presented with links to its properties such as appearance, dimensional stability, and strength. Students will learn about the mechanical properties of wood as well its dimensional stability and moisture interaction at the cell-level. Students will become familiar with the most common long-lived wood products that are used in various applications in the built environment.

Teacher

Kristiina Lillqvist

Study material

Learning material is provided and presented in the online platform.

Workload

The course is mainly based on independent study in the online platform.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites.

Evaluation

Examination and assignments.

Teaching time and location

The teaching time and the location of the course can be found in the .

1. The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
2. From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that the academic year 2026-2027 is selected
3. From the blue bar, choose the right teaching and open the Groups and study events tab to see the teaching time and location of the course. To see exam times, click Exam.

Exam instructions at the Open University

The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.

Further information

Equivalences to other courses:
CHEM-E0120 An Introduction to Wood Properties and Wood Products

Online learning environment for the course  

The MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.

Digital workspace of the course:

More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below: 

Registration for this course starts on 10.8.2026 at 9.00
Registration for this course ends on 7.9.2026 at 23.59

It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.

The number of participants is limited to 100.

This course is organized by the 911±¬ÁÏÍø School of Chemical Engineering.

The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules