Wood waste in the sawmill industry of wood processing

Abstract

Sawmill processing produces a certain amount of waste, as a result of processing sawlogs into sawn lumber. Waste occurs in the form of fine and coarse waste. Fine and coarse waste are generated on the primary milling machine (band saw) and on the circular saws for transversal and longitudinal lumber cutting. In addition to fine and coarse waste, sawdust also occurs as waste, but due to its specificity, it is not quantified. This paper presents results obtained from several years of research, conducted in five sawmill capacities. The researched capacities were at the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia. The data was gathered under manufacturing conditions. The wood species covered in the paper are beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), pine (Pinus sylvesteris, Pinus nigra), oak (Quercus sessiliflora), aspen (Populus tremula L.) and fir/spruce (Abies alba/Picea excelsa). The results indicate that beech has the highest percentage of total waste, and fir/spruce has the lowest percentage of total waste.