Inland Northwest Forest Products Research Consortium

The Inland Northwest Forest Products Research Consortium represents a cooperative effort between the Forest Products Department at the University of Idaho, the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, and the Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory at Washington State University. The Consortium, through a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional approach investigates forest products and utilization problems important to the Inland Northwest.

STRATEGIC RESEARCH AREAS:

• Define the changing timber resource.
• Characterize the unique physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of the small-diameter timber resource.
• Evaluate the capabilities of the regional forest industry to harvest and process the changing timber resource.
• Develop new harvesting and processing systems to deal with small-diameter timber under increasingly stringent environmental constraints.
• Develop new products and processing technologies to enhance the value of the changing timber resource.
• Determine potential for using currently non-merchantable wood as biomass for energy.

Impact

SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• Harvesting small-diameter timber - Improved harvesting production systems that directly benefit costs and minimize impacts to the site.
• Comprehensive information system - Developed a comprehensive electronic information system on the Inland Northwest’s primary and secondary wood-using industry.
• Strand composites modeling - Fundamental knowledge was developed on wood strand composites that will allow better utilization of small diameter timber and accommodate flexible manufacturing.
• Wood/plastic composites - Wood-plastic composites were developed from fast-growing hybrid poplar trees – an advancement that will lead to durable building products without reliance on preservative chemical treatments.
• High-temperature kiln drying - Development of kiln schedules to improve quality of lumber from small-diameter trees and to reduce energy consumption.

   
AREAS OF FUTURE IMPACT:

• Develop improved technology for efficient harvesting.
• Recover more product from individual woody stems.
• Provide objective, scientific information to guide policy decisions.
• Improved wood product durability.
• Find methods  for protecting wood with less reliance on chemical treatments.
• New products are needed to replace energy-intensive synthetic polymer components with bio-based polymers. These include lignin-derived thermoset resins and bacteria-formed thermoplastics.

Funding Source

This project is funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

Principal Contributors

Armando McDonald
Professor, Biomaterials and Bioproducts
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Don Bender
Director, Composite Materials & Engineering Center (CMEC) Washington State University

Todd Morgan
Director of Forest Industry Research, UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research
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