Wood touches lives in many ways, from the paper we use to chemicals, such as acetic acid and methanol. Wood is an amazing resource and is renewable as well. This article covers many characteristics of wood and its products. Wood is either hardwood or softwood (angiosperm or gymnosperm) and is made of firmly bonded cells. The anatomical structure affects all characteristics. Wood is made of lignin and carbohydrates, along with minor amounts of other organic chemicals and minerals. Wood is highly hygroscopic. The adsorption and desorption of moisture causes wood to swell and shrink, respectively. Wood has unique physical properties, such as strength and stiffness, that are related to its density. Wood is subject to deterioration, caused by temperature, time, moisture, and/or organisms. Wood can be fire retardant treated to reduce the surface burning characteristics and the heat release rate. Organisms such as fungi, bacteria, insects, and marine borers can attack wood. Various strategies control these attacks, including chemical treatment and preservatives, optimum conditions, and physical barriers. Wood is used to produce lumber, manufactured and composite products, pulp and paper, charcoal, chemical compounds, fuel, and much more. These products support many industries that together contribute greatly to the U.S. gross domestic product.
This report presents a worldwide overview of the dissolving pulp industry and highlights of this industry in Alaska. It describes trends in world markets and major end-use markets, with special emphasis on the manufacture and use of textile fibers in the United States. Figures and tables present data on production, consumption, and trade of dissolving pulp and the cellulosic fibers-rayon and acetate-produced from it. Data are also given on the production and use of competing natural and synthetic fibers, such as cotton, silk, nylon, and polyester.
Structural and nonstructural panels have been the fastest growing sector among wood products for the past two decades. The recent spate of plant construction and drop in product prices indicate slower growth and consolidation in the next 2 years. Growth in demand is unlikely to catch up with projected capacities until the next century, unless attrition of some existing capacity reduces industry growth. Among structural panels, costs of production are lowest for oriented strandboard, but there is a wide range among plants. Plywood costs are lowest in the U.S. South and highest in the West. Thus, the contraction of western plywood is likely to continue. Overcapacity also looms for nonstructural panels (particleboard and medium density fiberboard), but engineered structural wood products show opportunities for growth.
This report shows pulpwood receipts at pulp mills in the United States for the period 1950-1989. It is a compilation of published and estimated data based on information from various sources, including the American Pulpwood Association, American Paper Institute, U.S. Bureau of the Census, and the USDA Forest Service. Trends are shown in the use of hardwoods compared to softwoods and residues compared to roundwood, by the Forest Service timber supply regions. These historical data were compiled to help develop new pulpwood supply functions for the Timber Assessment Market Model and the North American Pulp and Paper Model of the USDA Forest Service.
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