Increasing sub/tropical eucalypt timber plantation profitability by value adding to thinnings

New processing options and end-uses are being developed to create larger, more stable and higher-value markets for plantation-sourced wood. To justify continued expansion of Australia's current hardwood plantation estate it is becoming necessary to develop higher value end-uses for, both pulpwood and smaller 'sawlog' resources. To improve its profitability and win new markets, the industry needs to use stems currently culled during thinnings as they have little or no economic value. This paper describes current Australian R&D into value adding to improve economic returns from small diameter (12 - 25 cm), 8-15 year old sub/tropical hardwood plantation thinnings. The product focus is raised far above the pulpwood commodity baseline to maximise the value of the fibre harvested. Small spindleless veneer lathe technology has been used to optimize the processing of this resource. Results are clearly indicating that the early age hardwood plantation resource, previously thought to be unusable, can be processed to yield valuable structural grade veneer. Plywood and Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) products have been manufactured and tested utilising multiple construction strategies. New market-relevant options, such as innovative hybrid/composite pole products, arched and straight light structural round members and hardwood veneer-based engineered structural products, are discussed and compared with more traditional sawing approaches. These offer economically viable avenues to more profitable operations in smaller-scale plantation resources and using smaller log sizes than required for conventional peeling, pulping and sawmilling uses. (Résumé d'auteur

Water absorption and curing time performance of urea formaldehyde resin mixed with different amount phosphorous-based fire retardants.

The curing time and the properties of urea formaldehyde (UF) resin mixed with fire retardants, BP (mixture of boric acid, guanylurea phosphate and phosphoric acid), monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and diammonium phosphate (DAP) were studied. There were two amounts used, 8% w/w and 10% w/w. The curing time of the mixed resin was determined by using thermo oil at the temperature of 170ºC. Water absorption test and physical observations were done to evaluate the properties of the fire retardant-mixed resin. The non-fire retardant UF resin samples were used as controls. The solubility of MAP and DAP in the water at different weights also has been studied. The solubility test was done with and without the involvement of heat. The study showed that UF resin mixed with MAP and BP cured faster than DAP-mixed UF and control samples. The time taken for UF resin to mix with 10 % w/w and 8 % w/w MAP were 20 s and 28 s respectively. The time taken for UF resin mixed with 10 % and 8 % w/w DAP was slightly than the controls, which are 160 s and 150 s respectively. The time taken for UF resin mixed with 10 % w/w and 8 % w/w BP was 101 s and 92 s respectively.The curing time for control samples was 140 s respectively. MAP and DAP were shown to be highly soluble, as they took less than 1 minute to be dissolved in the water without heat, but BP took 30 minutes to be dissolved in the water without heat and less than 1 minute with heat. Water absorption test showed that the higher the amount of MAP, DAP and BP mixed into the resin, the higher would be the rate of water absorbed

Traceability system for capturing, processing and providing consumer-relevant information about wood products: System solution and its economic feasibility

Current research and practice reports indicate the existence of purchase barriers concerning eco-friendly products, e.g. wood products. These can be ascribed to consumers' mistrust regarding the non-observable environmental impact of wood products. To counter the mistrust, wood products are commonly endowed with eco-labels, which may be perceived mostly as a marketing tool, therefore not fulfilling their intended purpose. Current studies have shown that providing consumers with wood product information based on traceability systems increases product trust and purchase intentions, with those information items most valued by consumers being identified as well. Based on this, the paper proposes a traceability information system for the capturing, processing, and provision of product information using examples of wood furniture. Furthermore, a cost-benefit model for the proposed solution is developed. The calculations indicate the possibility of implementing traceability at the item level based on a four-layer system architecture enabling the capture and delivery of all information valued by consumers at acceptable costs. The proposed system helps to overcome purchase barriers of eco-friendly products, increasing consumers' product trust and purchase intentions

Kualitas Papan Partikel Batang Pisang Barangan Berdasarkan Variasi Kadar Perekat Phenol Formaldehida

Banana stem is one of alternative materials for particleboard manufacturing. Utilization of banana stems for particleboard can reduce the wood demand for industrial particleboard. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of resin level PF to physical and mechanical properties particleboard made from banana stems and to determine of the optimum resin level from particleboard. Varied concentration of PF resin as binder consist of 8%, 10%, 12%, 14%, and 16%. Size thickness and density target of particleboard were 25 x 25 cm2 x 1 cm and 0,70 gr/cm3 respectively. The result showed that, over all for physical properties density and moisture content had fulfill JIS A 5908 (2003). Banana stem particleboards had low dimensional stability. Trend of water absorption and thickness swelling showed that the increasing of resin level resulted of decreasing water absorption and thickness swelling parameter. For mechanical properties, MOE and IB for resin level 16% had fulfill standard. In generally, the high resin level caused improvement mechanical properties of particleboard

Production of low formaldehyde emission particleboard by using new formulated formaldehyde based resin

In order to preserve the global market competitiveness, the particleboard industry was affronted with challenges to reduce formaldehyde emission while maintaining the quality strength properties of particleboard. To counter the issue, particleboards with five different surface-to-core ratio were fabricated by applying newly formulated UF and MUF resins which were 30% surface: 70% core (3:7); 40% surface: 60% core (4:6); 50% surface: 50% core (5:5); 60% surface: 40% core (6:4) and 70% surface: 30% core (7:3) based on dry particle weight respectively. Formaldehyde emission and strength properties of the fabricated particleboard were investigated based on Japanese Industrial Standard, which are JIS A 1460 and JIS A 5908, respectively. All the MUF-bonded particleboard complied with the type 18 standard, whereas all the UF-bonded particleboard produced complied with type 13 except thickness swelling of the UF-bonded particleboard. The surface-to-core ratio applied in three layered particleboard for both resins exerted considerable influence on the strength properties and formaldehyde emission of particleboards produced from both resins. MUF-bonded particleboard with 40% surface and 60% core recorded the lowest formaldehyde emission (0.09 mg L-1) and highest strength properties. For UF-bonded particleboard, the ratio of 60% surface and 40% core showed the lowest formaldehyde emission (0.28 mg L-1) with better strength properties. This study highlighted the potential of MUF resin to replace UF resin due to its ability to produce F**** particleboard with better strength properties and lower formaldehyde emission according to JIS A 5908

Properties of particleboard with oil palm trunk as core layer in comparison to three-layer rubberwood particleboard

Compaction ratio is highly dependent on the density of the wood materials used in the production of particleboard. Lower density wood materials will produce particleboard with higher compaction ratio and is believed to give better properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the properties of threelayer particleboard made from rubberwood and oil palm trunk with different bulk density as the core layer, while the rubberwood fine particles served as surface layers for both types of particleboard. This study also investigated the effect of shelling ratios on the mechanical and physical properties of the threelayer particleboard. Melamine-fortified urea formaldehyde (UF) resin was used as the binder. The modulus of rupture (MOR), internal bond strength (IB) and thickness swelling (TS) of the particleboards were evaluated based on the Japanese Industrial Standard for particleboard (JIS A 5908:2003). The results showed that both species and shelling ratios are variables that influenced the mechanical and physical properties of the particleboard. Despite its lower compaction ratio, particleboard made from rubberwood alone had better strength properties and dimensional stability than particleboard made from a mixture of rubberwood and oil palm trunk

Strength and deformation modification factors of wood based composites for engineering design

This paper summarizes some of the findings from a comprehensive study concerning the performance of wood based composites in building construction. The presentation only focuses on the strength and deformation modification factors for engineering design of wood based composites, that is, i) to determine whether the strength and deformation modification factors (kmod and kdef ) in Eurocode 5 for formaldehyde based boards are applicable to boards manufactured using new alternative binders such as isocyanate and cement, ii) to evaluate the effect of long-term concentrated loading by a full scale component test and small-scale indicative test, and iii) to examine the effect of long-term shear loading (panel and planar shears) on the performance of wood based composites for structural uses in comparison with long term bending loading in Eurocodes 1 and 5. Numerous results and important findings showed that i) the kc and kd values of isocyanate bonded particleboard (PB) under bending loads were lower than those of formaldehyde based PB, the former being 70-80% the latter; ii) the kc of cement bonded particleboard (CBPB) were similar to that of formaldehyde based particleboards, but with the deflection of the former being about 1/5 the latter, the CBPB test pieces lasted much longer than MUFPB under duration of load tests; iii) stress modes had a significant effect on long term performance: The extrapolated kc values under concentrated load were generally higher than those under bending load and in EC5, depending on the type of materials and joint profiles, the extrapolated kd were very similar between concentrated and bending loads and in EC5, the extrapolated kd values under shear load were higher than those in EC5, however, the kc values varied considerably with the type of oriented strand boards (OSB) and medium density boards (MDF) under shear loading tests. The results clearly showed that there is a need for developing strength and deformation modification factors for new materials and materials under various stress modes for engineering designs

Pengaruh Perlakuan Awal Partikel Terhadap Serangan Rayap Tanah Pada Papan Partikel Dari Limbah Batang Kelapa Sawit (the Effect of Particle Pre-treatment of Subterranean Termite Attack on Particleboard From Oil Palm Trunks Waste)

The utilization of oil palm trunk could be used as raw material for particleboard. It was not only increased the added value, but also used as substitution of wood. The purpose of this research evaluated the resistance of particleboard from waste of oil palm trunk on subterranean termites attack. The variation of particle pretreatment were dont by soaking the particle in hot water (1,2 and 3 hours) and in cold water (24, 48 and 72 hours.) Particleboard were made from oil palm trunk using isocyanate of 7%, with size 30 x 30 x 1 cm and density target of 0,70 gr/cm3. The evaluation of the samples were done by grave yard test along 100 days for resistance of particleboard on subterranean termites. The result showed that percentages of particleboard weight loss to subterranean termites were 19,99-63,92%. Based on subterranean termites attack, the particleboard made from oil palm trunk was classified as moderate to very destroy