Inland-Northwest Forest Products Research Consortium
OBJECTIVE:
The Inland-Northwest Forest Products Research
Consortium represents a cooperative effort between the Forest Products Department at the University of Idaho, the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, and the Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory at Washington State University. The Consortium, through a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional approach investigates forest products and utilization problems important to the Inland Northwest.
STRATEGIC RESEARCH AREAS:
· Define the changing timber resource.
· Characterize the unique physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of the small-diameter timber resource.
· Evaluate the capabilities of the regional forest industry to harvest and process the changing timber resource.
· Develop new harvesting and processing systems to deal with small-diameter timber under increasingly stringent environmental constraints.
· Develop new products and processing technologies to enhance the value of the changing timber resource.
· Determine potential for using currently non-merchantable wood as biomass for energy.
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
· Harvesting small-diameter timber
Improved harvesting production systems that improve costs and minimize impacts to the site.
· Comprehensive information system
Developed a comprehensive electronic information system on the Inland Northwest’s primary and secondary wood-using industry.
· Strand composites modeling
Fundamental knowledge was developed on wood strand composites that will allow better utilization of small diameter timber and accommodate flexible manufacturing.
· Wood/plastic composites
Wood-plastic composites were developed from fast-growing hybrid poplar trees – an advancement that will lead to durable building products without reliance on preservative chemical treatments.
· High-temperature kiln drying
Development of kiln schedules to improve quality of lumber from small-diameter trees and to reduce energy consumption.
CONTINUING CHALLENGES:
· Uncertainty of raw material availability
Given the changing resource base, we need to 1) develop improved technology for efficient harvesting; 2) recover more product from individual woody stems; and 3) provide objective, scientific information to guide policy decisions.
· Improved wood product durability
Methods are needed to protect wood with less reliance on chemical treatments.
· New bio-based products
New products are needed to replace energy-intensive synthetic polymer components with bio-based polymers. These include lignin-derived thermoset resins and bacteria-formed thermoplastics.