Pulpwood

Pulpwood refers to timber with the principal use of making wood pulp for paper production.

Applications

  • Trees raised specifically for pulp production account for 16% of world pulp production, old growth forests 9% and second- and third- and more generation forests account for the balance.Reforestation is practiced in most areas, so trees are a renewable resource.
  • Pulpwood is also used as the raw material for some wood products, such as oriented strand board (OSB).
  • There is an increasing demand for pulpwood as a source of 'green energy' by the bio-energy sector.
  • Properties

    The fiber length of the cellulose fiber is the most important parameter of the pulpwood and determines what it may be used for. The first separation is into softwood and hardwood, that have long and short fibers respectively. In paper production fiber from softwood give tensile strength and fibers from hardwood give opacity.

    Sources

    Logging

    In the logging of mixed forest stands, the better trees are usually used for sawlogs for lumber production, while the inferior trees and components are harvested for pulpwood production. Pulpwood usually derives from four types of woody materials in a mixed logging operation:

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