During 1973, Peter Koch joined Thomas Edison, Mme. Curie, the Wright Brothers and other “most deserving” men and women in receiving the John Scott Award. This award first given in 1822, recognizes those individuals “whose inventions have contributed in some outstanding way to the ‘comfort, welfare and happiness’ of mankind (The John Scott Award, 2017).”

Credited for the invention of the chipping headrig; Peter is best remembered as the renowned Chief Wood Scientist, Southern Forest Experiment Station, USDA Forest Service. He was a man on a mission linking basic wood research with innovative applications within the wood products industry. Best characterized as indefatigable; and a doer; he had a pace to match. He became a leading American authority on applied wood science.

Abstract

Sawmills are an important component of the hardwood industry, developing value-added products derived from the timber resources of the eastern United States. Employment in eastern sawmills has declined during the 21st century, reaching its lowest point in 2009 and 2010. Employment declines in the North and South Central regions of the United States were less than declines in the Northeast and Southeast regions, but East-wide employment was over 30 percent lower in 2010 than in 2001. The number of sawmills also has declined in the East, but since 2010, average employment in those mills has been increasing. Eastern hardwood lumber production followed sawmill employment for the four eastern subregions between 2001 and 2008; the last year estimates were available by state. Initial estimates of hardwood lumber production in 2009 based on production-to-employment ratios for the 2001 to 2008 period appeared higher than US Department of Agriculture estimates from timber product output data. A potential cause of this discrepancy was sawmills maintaining key employees during the Great Recession. After adjusting for these differences, eastern hardwood lumber production for 2009 was estimated to be 6.5 billion board feet (BBF), which was consistent with estimates of hardwood lumber consumption, net exports, and inventory adjustments. Eastern hardwood lumber production had increased to 9.2 BBF by 2015 but still was 28 percent less than the peak production year of 1999.

Abstract

Acacia koa trees are ecologically, economically, and culturally significant to the Hawaiian Islands. Koa wood is one of the most valuable species in the world and sale of koa products represents a majority of all the Hawaiian wood products sold by Hawaiian retailers. Today, there is concern in Hawaii among foresters, forest landowners and managers, wood products manufacturers, and the public that the remaining old-growth koa resource has become scarce, is suffering from declining health and diseases, and is characterized by poor growth form. Current practices require harvest of only dead and dying trees and using downed material in wood products manufacturing. We examined lumber volume and value recovery from logs sawn from dead and dying trees and from relic logs (logs that have been on the ground) from four sites on the island of Hawaii. Gross lumber recovery from all study logs was 71 percent. Log size did not significantly influence lumber volume recovery. Forty-five percent of the lumber manufactured from relic logs was below grade compared with 26 percent of the lumber sawn from standing dead and dying trees. Variables that affect lumber quality, such as different defects and heartwood proportion, were measured. Decay-type defects were the most prominent.

Abstract

Recently, the US forest product industry has seen remarkable shifts in market demand for traditional forest products. The displacement of paper demand by new electronic media and communication technology has led to the closure of several pulp and paper–based manufacturing facilities across the nation. The closure of such facilities can have devastating impacts on forest communities in the mills' fiber shed area, particularly forest landowners, loggers, truckers, and others involved in the supply chain. Sustaining forest-dependent communities need viable economic alternatives. Development agencies at the local and regional levels need to fully understand the feasibility of new forest-based alternatives. With a case of 24 counties that made up the hardwood fiber shed for a recently closed pulp mill, this study analyzed the feasibility of three alternatives in revitalizing the affected economy through utilizing the surplus fiber and creating new opportunities for the displaced workforce. Although investment in each business alternative is likely to yield positive return on investment for the region, expected impacts on jobs and industrial output varied considerably. Compared with wood pellet and bioelectricity, the bio-oil industry is likely to generate jobs that will not only offset the current job deficit but also create additional opportunities. Results from a multiregional input–output analysis revealed spillover economic opportunities beyond the impacted areas. Findings will be useful in guiding sustainable business and investment decisions as well as understanding the anticipated community benefits of energy-based industries in revitalizing economies affected by the declining market demand for traditional forest products.

Abstract

Bonding properties of southern yellow pine (Pinus spp.) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) were compared in terms of density, chemical composition, surface energy, shear stress, percent wood failure, and delamination. Specimens were taken from two trees of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and one tree of Douglas-fir. Density measurements showed that for mature wood, southern pine exhibited a higher average density than Douglas-fir, but for juvenile wood, southern pine showed a lower average density than Douglas-fir. Chemical analysis determined that southern yellow pine contained higher percent hemicellulose, lignin, and extractives, whereas Douglas-fir had higher percent cellulose. Static sessile drop contact angle measurements revealed that southern yellow pine specimens exhibited a lower average contact angle than Douglas-fir and, accordingly, higher average surface energy. Shear strength, percent wood failure, and delamination due to accelerated weathering were measured for bonded specimens constructed with either a one-part moisture-cure polyurethane (PUR) or a two-part ambient-curing phenol-resorcinol-formaldehyde (PRF) and three different assembly time combinations. Shear strength for southern yellow pine was affected the most by assembly time, whereas Douglas-fir shear strength was affected by the type of adhesive and interaction with the growth region at the bond. Delamination results showed that southern yellow pine exhibited less delamination than Douglas-fir when using PRF. Delamination measurements from the PUR bonds were similar and extremely high for both wood types. Although statistically significant differences were found in a few wood factors, limited differences were found in shear strengths, percent wood failure, and delamination due to accelerated testing for the two wood types.

Abstract

Relatively short-term (3-, 6-, and 12-mo) outdoor exposure tests using particleboard specimens of two different sizes to clarify the effect of specimen size and starting time on the deterioration of the mechanical properties (bending and internal bond strength) of the particleboard were conducted. The weathering intensity was determined from the results of the short-term exposure tests, and the effect of the specimen size on the weathering intensity was discussed. The strength retention tended to decrease exponentially with elapsed time. After a 1-year exposure in Shizuoka, Japan, the retained strength was less than 60 percent. Rectangular specimens had less strength retention than the square specimens and are thought to be a more reliable indicator of the true effect of weathering conditions on strength loss. Short- and long-term exposure tests are equally useful for determining the effect of outdoor exposure on particleboard properties.

Abstract

Vacuum drying of wood is a method to reduce drying time and inventory; however, there is limited information regarding the economic feasibility for vacuum drying 4/4 red oak compared with traditional drying methods. The benefits of this technology, mainly dramatically reduced drying times and higher flexibility, must be weighed against the higher initial capital investment. The goal of this project was to compare the economic feasibility, using capital budgeting techniques, of conventional drying and vacuum drying for 4/4 red oak lumber. The analysis was conducted for two actual flooring manufacturers. Conventional drying for this analysis was considered to be air-drying plus kiln drying, which is commonly done with red oak. The vacuum technology considered used hot platens for heating the wood. Species, thickness, drying methods, and lumber demand compared, both drying methods (conventional and vacuum drying) were determined to be economically feasible. However, vacuum drying had a slightly higher net present value, cost–benefit ratio, and sensitivity analysis than conventional drying, making it a slightly better investment for drying 4/4 red oak. The initial tied-up inventory and its respective cost in the conventional drying scenario represents an opportunity cost that can be recovered using vacuum drying. This recovered cost can result in freed capital that can be invested elsewhere to increase competitiveness.

Abstract

Moisture sorption and hygroexpansion of southern pine (Pinus spp.) treated with 0.5, 1, and 2 percent concentrations of paraffin wax emulsion (PWE) under dynamic conditions were investigated. The specimens, 4 and 10 mm along the grain and 20 mm in radial and tangential directions, were exposed to sinusoidal relative humidity (RH) between 45 and 75 percent at 30°C for cyclic periods of 1, 6, and 24 hours, respectively. Moisture changes and lateral dimensional changes were measured during the cycling. The moisture and dimensional responses of the specimens varied sinusoidally as well. The amplitude of moisture and the moisture sorption coefficient decreased with increasing PWE concentration treatment, leading to moisture-repellent effectiveness (MRE) values ranging from 10 to 66 percent. The list of amplitudes of dimensional change and the humidity expansion coefficient were lower in the PWE-treated wood, reflecting the antideformation effectiveness (ADE) of PWE treatment. Moisture and lateral dimension changes lagged behind RH, and the phase lag increased with an increase in PWE concentration, indicating that PWE treatment had efficient effects not only on reducing the amount but also on slowing the rate of the sorptive and hygroexpansive behavior of wood. Notably, values of MRE and ADE herein were greater than those obtained under static conditions by a previous study, i.e., PWE presented better moisture repellency and dimensional stabilizing performance of wood in dynamic environments for more practical applications.

Abstract

The performance of western hemlock, sugar pine, and western larch as alternatives to western redcedar (WRC) for roof shingles was investigated on outdoor roof racks with and without an initial brush or dip treatment with either pentachlorophenol (penta) or chromated copper arsenate (CCA). Untreated shingles of all species experienced degradation over a 32-year exposure in western Oregon, but WRC provided the best performance. Penta treatments improved performance to some extent, but the best protection was provided by a dip treatment in CCA prior to installation. The results illustrate the benefits of even shallow surface protection in aboveground exposures.

Abstract

Bamboo sheaths are typical, lignocellulosic, forest and agricultural residues in bamboo stands. This study investigated the potential for use of Dendrocalamus giganteus sheaths as the raw material for paper making, based on their morphological and chemical properties at various growth stages. Undifferentiated and differentiated vascular bundles of sheaths were studied, and phloem sheaths were found to have more fiber than protoxylem sheaths. The parenchymal cells adjoining the differentiated vascular bundles showed decomposition and formed air cavities. D. giganteus sheaths contained medium-sized fibers, and both the slenderness ratio and the Runkel ratio showed high suitability as pulp fiber. The chemical composition demonstrated moderate differences at various growth stages. Overall, D. giganteus sheaths had a low ash content and lignin and holocellulose contents that were comparable to those of traditional pulp fibers. Therefore, D. giganteus sheaths have a promising potential as pulp fiber.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the expression of a kinetic model and the determination of kinetic parameters for cork. Thermal analysis kinetics of cork and impurities (sclereids and lenticels) were studied by thermogravimetric (TG) curves. The Málek method was used to obtain kinetic parameters in this experiment. Reconstruction models of y(α) and z(α) were compared with standard curves to determine appropriate kinetic models. The results showed that the RO(n) model was suitable to describe the dynamic process of cork, sclereids, and lenticels. The expressions of kinetic models were f(α) = (1 − α)^4.89 for cork, f(α) = (1 − α)^5.82 for sclereids, and f(α) = (1 − α)^5.00 for lenticels. The natural log values ln A were 19.56, 28.90, and 28.88 ln s⁻¹ for cork, sclereids, and lenticels, respectively. Fitting errors of parameters for cork, sclereids, and lenticels were less than 5 percent. The fitted conversion rate and curves of mass fraction were in good agreement with experimental data. Obtaining the kinetic model and parameters provides a basis for prediction of thermal properties of cork.