Properties of wood show large variation among tree species, stands and trees of different growth conditions and parts of trees. Unwanted property variations lead to increased costs and problems with product quality.
It is estimated that 30 - 40 % of the variations in product quality may originate from variations in the wood and fibre raw material, directly or indirectly by causing process disturbances. Knowledge and tools are needed to achieve more uniform and suitable wood and fibres for the specific mill and products.
Innventia initiated research and development in this field started more than 15 years ago. Research projects and contract work for mills and companies have now been performed on four continents. Examples of activities and results are:
- Prediction of wood and fibre properties of stands, trees, logs and chips:
The Wood and Fibre Measurement Centre, models and simulation, forest resource databases.
- Relationships between wood, fibre, pulp and paper properties:
The benchmarking databases, process studies in mills and pilot plants.
- Allocation of wood to mills and products, considering fibre properties and costs:
Contract work and cooperation with companies and mills.
- Information about properties of the available and delivered wood:
Forest resource databases, Chip mix calulator, contract work for mills.
- Wood yard and wood room operations:
Chip mix calculator, simulation of uniformity, measurement and process control.
- Adaptation of the pulp and paper processes to the material being processed, for efficient operation and the right product quality.
Estimated properties of pulpwood: Distributions of fibre length and wall thickness.