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- Country of residence: Germany
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Edmond Roffael (German: Edmone
Roffael) (December 31, 1939 – January 14, 2021) was an Arab Christian chemist
and professor. He was born in the Palestinian city of Tulkarm. He holds German
citizenship. He is a scientist in the chemistry of wood and forests, a
scientist in physical chemistry, and an academic. One of the important and
officially registered patents in his name.
His upbringing and education
Edmond Raphael was born in the city
of Tulkarem in the West Bank on December 31, 1939. He majored in chemistry at
Cairo University and Alexandria University in Egypt, and obtained a master’s
degree in chemistry in 1965 from Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany,
and he also obtained a doctorate in 1968 in cellulose chemistry from Technical
University of Darmstadt in Germany with a thesis entitled “X-Ray and Infrared
Scans on the Organized State of Cellulose”.
his working life
From 1970 to 1993 he worked in
technical wood research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research in
Braunschweig, Germany. Soon his research focused on various wood materials and
their production using synthetic resins such as phenol-formaldehyde resins,
phenoplasts or amino plastics. On this subject, Raphael also wrote his
post-doctoral thesis on the possibilities of gluing wood chips with
phenol-formaldehyde resins and sulfur waste sulfur, which was habilitated in
1976 at the Faculty of Forestry of the Georg-August University in Göttingen,
thus obtaining his teaching license (venia legendi) for the subject “Chemistry
the wood".
In 1981, Edmond Raphael became a
professor at the famous University of Göttingen in Germany, and worked as a
lecturer in the university's Faculty of Forestry. In 1993 he served as the head
of the Institute of Wood Sciences, and in the following years he built the
'Wood Chemistry' department at the Forest Utilization Institute, and in 1997
the entire facility was renamed the 'Institute of Timber Biology and Wood
Technology'.
Edmond Raphael achieved
international fame primarily through his contributions to formaldehyde
research. He gave his scholarly attention to this problem early on and had
already published the standard work Die Formaldehyd-Abgabe von Chipboard and
other articles in 1982.
In the years after 1982 the topic
was widely discussed, especially because of potential harm and a health
concern, and the methods and devices developed by Raphael for measuring
potential formaldehyde release from materials were also the basis for the development
of standards and guidelines in Germany and pan-European. Raphael was always
looking for ways to reduce the gases of these substances. In this sense, he
also investigated the so-called "volatile organic compounds" of raw
wood and wood products. He was also heavily involved in the development of
tannin-related particle board.
His writings and research
By 2005, Damon Raphael has written
more than 350 publications. Edmond Raphael has published the results of his
research mainly in specialized bodies; "WKI-Mitteilungen", "Wood
as Raw and Material", "Wood Central Sheet" and "Das
Papier". Edmond Roffael (German: Edmone
Roffael) (December 31, 1939 – January 14, 2021) was an Arab Christian chemist
and professor. He was born in the Palestinian city of Tulkarm. He holds German
citizenship. He is a scientist in the chemistry of wood and forests, a
scientist in physical chemistry, and an academic. One of the important and
officially registered patents in his name.
His upbringing and education
Edmond Raphael was born in the city
of Tulkarem in the West Bank on December 31, 1939. He majored in chemistry at
Cairo University and Alexandria University in Egypt, and obtained a master’s
degree in chemistry in 1965 from Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany,
and he also obtained a doctorate in 1968 in cellulose chemistry from Technical
University of Darmstadt in Germany with a thesis entitled “X-Ray and Infrared
Scans on the Organized State of Cellulose”.
his working life
From 1970 to 1993 he worked in
technical wood research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research in
Braunschweig, Germany. Soon his research focused on various wood materials and
their production using synthetic resins such as phenol-formaldehyde resins,
phenoplasts or amino plastics. On this subject, Raphael also wrote his
post-doctoral thesis on the possibilities of gluing wood chips with
phenol-formaldehyde resins and sulfur waste sulfur, which was habilitated in
1976 at the Faculty of Forestry of the Georg-August University in Göttingen, thus
obtaining his teaching license (venia legendi) for the subject “Chemistry the
wood".
In 1981, Edmond Raphael became a
professor at the famous University of Göttingen in Germany, and worked as a
lecturer in the university's Faculty of Forestry. In 1993 he served as the head
of the Institute of Wood Sciences, and in the following years he built the
'Wood Chemistry' department at the Forest Utilization Institute, and in 1997
the entire facility was renamed the 'Institute of Timber Biology and Wood
Technology'.
Edmond Raphael achieved
international fame primarily through his contributions to formaldehyde
research. He gave his scholarly attention to this problem early on and had
already published the standard work Die Formaldehyd-Abgabe von Chipboard and
other articles in 1982.
In the years after 1982 the topic
was widely discussed, especially because of potential harm and a health
concern, and the methods and devices developed by Raphael for measuring
potential formaldehyde release from materials were also the basis for the
development of standards and guidelines in Germany and pan-European. Raphael
was always looking for ways to reduce the gases of these substances. In this
sense, he also investigated the so-called "volatile organic
compounds" of raw wood and wood products. He was also heavily involved in
the development of tannin-related particle board.
His writings and research
By 2005, Damon Raphael has written
more than 350 publications. Edmond Raphael has published the results of his
research mainly in specialized bodies; "WKI-Mitteilungen", "Wood
as Raw and Material", "Wood Central Sheet" and "Das
Papier".
his most important research
"Röntgen- und
Infrarotuntersuchungen über den Ordnungszustand der Cellulose", Germany,
1968.
"Möglichkeiten der Verleimung
von Holzspänen mit Phenolformaldehydharzen und Sulfitablauge", Germany,
1975.
Verwendung von alkalischen
Phenolformaldehyharzen und Ligninsulfonaten bei der Verleimung von Holzspänen,
Germany, 1976.
Verwendung von Durchforstungsholz
und Altpapier zur Papierherstellung unter Berücksichtigung
forstwirtschaftlicher Belange, Luft, Boden, Abfall, Germany, 1995.
Umweltschutz in der
Holzwerkstoffindustrie, Germany, 1999.
Untersuchungen zur Verminderung der
Längenänderung von Holzspanplatten durch gezielte Nutzung von
materialimmanenten Eigenschaften und Verwendung von feuchtebeständigen
Zusatzstoffen. Schlussbericht, Germany, 2004.
His most prominent works
Die Formaldehyd-Abgabe von
Spanplatten und anderen Werkstoffen, Germany, 1982, ISBN 3-87181-301-X. It was
translated into Russian in 1991 and translated into English in 1993.
The book "Formaldehyd in der
Natur, im Holz und in Holzwerkstoffen", in German, in 2017. In the same
year, it was translated into English: "Formaldehyde in nature, in wood and
in wood-based panels".
They wrote about it
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Edmone Roffael, 65
Jahre, by N.N., ISSN 0018-3792.
The book "J. Fischer,"
Prof. Edmonde Roffael - Große Verdienste bei der Formaldehyd-Forschung, ISSN
0018-3792.
his death
The scientist Edmond Raphael died in
Braunschweig, Germany, on January 14, 2021, at the age of 81. He was mourned by
a number of researchers, scientists, academics, universities and scientific
institutions in Germany.
Achievements and Awards
Honor him
On the occasion of his 65th
birthday, a conference in honor of Edmond Raphael was held at the University of
Göttingen on April 21, 2005. The conference was entitled “The Wood Industry and
Wood Products in Change”. For this purpose, about 120 scientists and experts in
science and industry from Germany, Chile and others gathered at the conference.
Patents
Edmond Raphael holds several
important and officially registered patents in his name, which have been
registered by the United States Patent Office (USPTO). Among the most important
of these inventions:
"Method for production of
lignocellulosic composite materials", Patent No. 20030041965.
"Process for the manufacture of
particle-board and fiberboard", Patent No. 5866057.
"Method for use of recycled
lignocellulosic composite materials", Patent No. 20020153107.
"Durable and highly stable
molded construction parts", Patent No. 5030289.
"Method for production of
lignocellulosic composite materials", Patent No. 6346165.
"Waste liquor derived from
chemical thermal pulping of particle boards and fiberboards containing bonding
agents", and patent number 5705542.
awards
Edmond Raphael has won a number of
awards, most notably:
The Borden Award for Forest
Research, 1982, awarded by the Forest Research Foundation in the United States
of America.
The International Wilhelm Klauditz
Award for Wood, Forestry and Environmental Protection Research, 1988, which is
granted by the International Association of Timbers every four years, and he is
the first winner of this international award since its establishment in 1988.
internationally appreciated
Edmond Raphael enjoys global
recognition and attention, and many of his research and advisory activities
have been transferred to many countries of the world, including: Egypt, Brazil,
Bulgaria, Chile, Greece, Canada, Malaysia, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, the United
States of America, and others.
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