Process Modifications for Wood Waste Feedstocks

Issue: Pulp and paper industry were originally designed and constructed to use virgin wood feedstocks as a raw material. Some of the virgin wood fiber used for the pulp and paper industry is from lower value roundwood logs that are chipped for pulping. The other major source is from the residuals from sawmill, veneer, and lumber plants. These solid wood production plants produce millions of tons a year of residual barks, chips, and sawdust that they cannot use but can be used for pulping. This wood fiber is too small, or too defective for solid wood manufacturing. The remaining virgin feedstocks are typically derived from the residual chips produced by primary wood products manufacturers (sawmills and plywood plants) that rely on the round log for their raw material. The virgin wood fiber is generally free of non-wood contaminants and relatively uniform in specie, geometry, color, and moisture content.