Treesearch

Adhesive bonding of wood plays an increasing role in the forest products industry and is a key factor for efficiently utilizing our timber resource. The main use of adhesives is in the manufacture of building materials, including plywood, oriented strandboard, particleboard, fiberboard, structural composite lumber, doors, windows and frames, and factory-laminated wood products. Adhesives are also used in the assembly of furniture and cabinets, manufacture of engineered wood products, and construction of residential and commercial structures. Adhesives transfer and distribute loads between...

Part of a sustainable future for wood products depends on extending the lifetime of wood used in adverse environments. For some products such as the daily news paper, the average life of the products is one day. For packaging, the products average life time may be as few days to a few weeks. For pallets and wooden containers, the lifetime may be several months. For construction, the lifetime may be many, many years. For those products with a long expected life, especially when used outdoors, there is a need to protect them from environmental degradation. The need to protect wood from decay...

This study was conducted to develop a simple model to predict the bending modulus of elasticity (MOE) of randomly oriented hybrid panels. The modeling process involved three modules: the behavior of a single layer was computed by applying micromechanics equations, layer properties were adjusted for densification effects, and the entire panel was modeled as a three-layer symmetric composite using laminate theory. The model accounts for panel vertical density distribution and the inclusion of two fiber reinforcements. Model inputs were experimentally determined from physical and mechanical...

This study demonstrated the efficiency of Ca(II) and Mg(II) in removing inhibition of enzymatic hydrolysis by lignosulfonate through non-productive adsorption of enzymes. Adding 1 mmol/g cellulose of either metal salt restores approximately 65% of the activity lost when a pure cellulose/cellulase solution is spiked with lignosulfonate. Addition of either Ca(II) or Mg(II) is also effective in counteracting soluble inhibitors of cellulase present in unwashed aspen solid substrate produced by SPORL (sulfite pretreatment to overcome recalcitrance of lignocelluloses). Soluble inhibitors are...

Research was conducted to determine the corrosion rates of metals in preservative treated wood and also understand the mechanism of metal corrosion in treated wood. Steel and hot-dip galvanized steel fasteners were embedded in wood treated with one of six preservative treatments and exposed to 27oC at 100% relative humidity for 1 year. The corrosion rate was determined gravimetrically and the corrosion products were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Although the accepted mechanism of corrosion in treated wood involves...

Moisture absorption and dimensional distortion are the major drawbacks of wood utilization as building material. In this study, poplar wood coated with a thin layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) was prepared by the cosolvent-controlled hydrothermal method. Subsequently, its moisture absorption and dimensional stability were examined. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that the wood substrate was closely and entirely covered with the TiO2 coat. Microscale features were visible despite masking of the ultrastructural features of the cell wall. To explore the effects of TiO2 coating...

Trend data through 2006 are provided on the value and volume of wood and wood products production for the United States to aid in assessing sustainability of socioeconomic benefits of forests. The volume of roundwood used to make products, the weight produced, and the value of U.S. shipments have been stable to declining in recent years. But there have been increases in the weight of oriented strandboard production and the value of furniture production. U.S. demand for products is likely to continue to increase with increasing population and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If the cost of...

Total consumption of wood and paper products and fuelwood, in roundwood equivalents, increased between 1965 and 1988 from 13.2 to 18.9 billion cubic feet. Since 1988, it has been about 20 billion cubic feet per year. Total per capita consumption increased between 1965 and 1987, from 68 to 83 ft3 per year. Since 1987 through 2006, per capita consumption has declined to 68 ft3 per year. Consumption excluding fuelwood increased steadily between 1965 and 2006, from 12.3 to 18.8 billion cubic feet. Most of the increase occurred between 1965 and 1988. Per capita consumption excluding fuelwood,...

The United States has become progressively more reliant on imports to meet consumption needs. In roundwood equivalents, imports of wood and paper products as a share of consumption increased from 13% to 30% between 1965 and 2005. This increase is due largely to increased softwood lumber import share, which increased from 15% in 1965 to 38% in 2006. The import share for other products was stable from 1965 to 1990, but has since increased. Export share of production, over this same period, initially increased from 5% in 1965 to 16% in 1991 then decreased to 10% in 2006. This pattern is due...

This paper describes the current state of the U.S. economy and provides general and statistical information on forest products markets in terms of production, trade, consumption, and prices. Market developments are described for sawn softwood, sawn hardwood, softwood log trade, wood-based panels, paper and paperboard, fuelwood, forest product prices, and housing starts. Policy initiatives that can affect domestic markets and international trade in wood products are also discussed in some detail. Data are provided through the end of the year 2008 with estimates for 2009 and forecasts for 2010.