Global demand for wood fibre, coupled with the need to be cost-competitive and sustainable has led to increasing use of recycled wood in the wood-based panels industry. Stephen Powney looks at the topic and speaks to two different equipment suppliers in this area – PAL and Dieffenbacher
At the last International Panel Products Symposium (IPPS) in 2019 shortly before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Marcel Vroege of consultant Indufor Asia Pacific Ltd gave an assessment of the future availability of feedstock for the global wood-based panel industry.
He warned that some key wood supply challenges would be faced in the coming years due to factors including increased competition for wood fibre from the engineered wood products industry such as LVL and cross-laminated timber (CLT), the growth of India, expansion of bio energy and threats to the forests from pests like beetles and natural disasters that are possibly linked to climate change.
The assessment by Mr Vroege then was that about 900 million m3 of roundwood equivalent was used by the global woodbased panels industry but he doubted whether there would be enough wood available if the industry doubled in size. About 2 billion m3 of fibre is used today for all forest-based products, including pulp.
“We need to do more with less,” he summarised. “We need to extend the lifecycle massively and make products that can last longer, as well as re-use products.”
With high demand for wood from all sectors, talk of shortages and rising prices, there is increasing focus on recycling wood.
https://www.wbpionline.com/features/making-the-most-of-wood-180621-8830644/