Wood fibre

Wood fibres (also spelled wood fibers, see spelling differences) are usually cellulosic elements that are extracted from trees and used to make materials including paper.

The end paper product (paper, paperboard, tissue, cardboard, etc.) dictates the species, or species blend, that is best suited to provide the desirable sheet characteristics, and also dictates the required fibre processing (chemical treatment, heat treatment, mechanical "brushing" or refining, etc.).

In North America, virgin (non-recycled) wood fibre is primarily extracted from hardwood (deciduous) trees and softwood (coniferous) trees. The wood fibre can be extracted as a primary product, or collected during the milling of lumber.^[1] Wood fibres can also be recycled from used paper materials.^[2]

Paper

Wood fibres are treated by combining them with other additives which break down the fibres into a spongy mass called pulp. The pulp is then processed, and the network of tiny fibres is pressed flat, becoming paper.

Construction material

Wood fibres can be pressed into various types of flat boards, used as insulation, renderboard and sarking. Densities vary from 60Kg/m3 insulation boards to 180Kg/m3 render boards. Some types of woodfibre are flexible, others very rigid. Flexible insulation is designed to be friction-installed between timbers or fitted on top of somewhat irregular surfaces

There are manufacturers in Poland (Beltermo, Steico), Germany (Gutex, Steico HQ), France (Pavatex) and Norway (Hunton)..

There are two different manufacturing processes: wet and dry.^[3]

In the wet-process, chipped, waste timber is ground up into small pieces then boiled up with water and a few other chemicals designed to break down the timber into the fibres. During this process, many of the sugars which are of interest to fungus and mould are removed. This slurry is then poured on to a belt sieve and compressed to remove as much water as possible and heated with steam to bond the fibres together. The steaming process softens the natural lignin around the fibres which holds the fibres together in the board, which is typically manufactured to around 20mm thickness. These boards are then laminated up with a water based glue into thicker layers to produce boards up to around 120mm thick.

In the dry-process waste timber is dried and ground up into fibres, then mixed with a synthetic glue called PMDI (polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) is a polyurethane based glue which is used in fairly small quantities (3-4% by mass). This is essentially the same glue use in OSB and MDF. The mixture is then laid on a conveyor belt and compressed to the correct thickness and density, then steam is applied to cure the boards. These boards are made to the desired thickness and are not usually laminated.

Wet-process boards are typically denser and have much stronger capilliary action to move water around. The dry process consumes less energy.

Hydroculture

Wood fibres can be used as a substrate in hydroponics. Wood wool (i.e. wood slivers) have been a substrate of choice since the earliest days of the hydroponics research.^[4] However, more recent research suggests that wood fibre can have detrimental effects on "plant growth regulators".^[5]^{[non-primary source needed]}

Composites

Wood fibres can be combined with thermoplastics to create strong, waterproof products for outdoor use, such as deck boards or outdoor furniture.^[6]

References

^ Philip Joseph Burton (2003). Towards Sustainable Management of the Boreal Forest. NRC Research Press. pp. 759–. ISBN 978-0-660-18762-4.
^ Pratima Bajpai (21 November 2013). Recycling and Deinking of Recovered Paper. Elsevier Science. pp. 8–. ISBN 978-0-12-417169-5.
^ "Wet process vs Dry process wood fibre insulation". 17 March 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
^ Gericke, William F. (1940). The Complete Guide to Soilless Gardening (1st ed.). London: Putnam. pp. 38& 84. ISBN 9781163140499.
^ Wallheimer, Brian (October 25, 2010). "Rice hulls a sustainable drainage option for greenhouse growers". Purdue University. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
^ Caroline Baillie (8 March 2005). Green Composites: Polymer Composites and the Environment. CRC Press. pp. 94–. ISBN 978-0-8493-2576-2.

v t e Wood products
Lumber/ timber	Batten Beam Bressummer CLS Cruck Flitch beam Flooring Joist Lath Log building Log cabin Log house Molding Panelling Plank Plate Post Purlin Rafter Railroad ties Reclaimed Shingle Siding Sill Stud Timber truss Treenail Truss Utility pole
Engineered wood	Cross-laminated timber Glued laminated timber veneer LVL parallel strand I-joist Fiberboard hardboard Masonite MDF Oriented strand board Oriented structural straw board Particle board Plywood Structural insulated panel Wood–plastic composite lumber
Fuelwood	Charcoal biochar Firelog Firewood Pellet fuel Wood fuel
Fibers	Cardboard Corrugated fiberboard Paper Paperboard Pulp Pulpwood Rayon
Derivatives	Birch-tar Cellulose nano Hemicellulose Cellulosic ethanol Dyes Lignin Liquid smoke Lye Methanol Pyroligneous acid Pine tar Pitch Sandalwood oil Tannin Wood gas
By-products	Barkdust Black liquor Ramial chipped wood Sawdust Tall oil Wood flour Wood wool Woodchips
Historical	Axe ties Bavin (wood) Billet (wood) Clapboard Dugout canoe Potash Sawdust brandy Split-rail fence Tanbark Timber framing Wooden masts
See also	Biomass Certified wood Destructive distillation Dry distillation Engineered bamboo Forestry Green building and wood List of woods Mulch Non-timber forest products Natural building Papermaking Reclaimed lumber Timber recycling Wood drying Wood preservation Wood processing Woodworking Yakisugi
Category Commons WikiProject Forestry

Paper

Construction material

Hydroculture

Composites

See also

References

Further reading