Did You Know?
One cord of wood equals 128 cubic feet, or a pile of wood 4 feet high, 4 feet thick and 8
feet long. Different products require different kinds of trees, but for general
information, a cord of wood will yield the following quantities of products:
7,500,000 toothpicks
Building an average 1,800 square foot home uses 10,000 board feet of lumber, equaling 20
cords of wood. Domestic demand for wood and paper products could double by the time a new
generation of trees is available. And this projection does not take into consideration the
potential for improving our balance of trade through more exports to supply increasing
world demand.
Fortunately, we have the forest resources and the know-how to meet our domestic needs, to
keep costs or wood and paper products reasonable for consumers and to serve the growing
worldwide demand for forest products as well. But all this won't happen unless, as a
nation, we make a commitment to manage our forests to their potential - NOW!
That's Wood?
Just for fun, name 2,500 products that come from trees. But don't count lumber, plywood,
paper or splinters. Before you get started, here's another challenge: What do beekeepers,
Maine lobstermen, chicken ranchers, photographers and Texas wildcatters all have in
common? The work they do, the products they sell, all depend on by-products from trees.
Now before you settle down to make your list of those products, remember trees are
renewable. There are no "dryholes," no "exhausted veins," no
"bottom of the barrel" in a forest - if we practice good forest management. For
centuries, people saw trees only as lumber or firewood. In the process of making lumber,
however, there was a tremendous amount of waste. Sawdust, bark, wood scraps all had to be
hauled away or burned, and that created more complications. Finally, scientists came along
and peered into the very structure of trees. They found a brew of chemicals. The stuff of
energy. And new ways of taking a tree apart and shaping it to human needs.
They perceived that the molecular lattice work of a tree had a potential beyond their
wildest dreams. The lights burned late at research centers all over the country. The story
of how the forest industry used this research to create new products, new markets, new
ways of doing things and even new energy is too big a story to be told here. But to help
with that incredible list you'll be working on, we'll outline some of the products that
depend on the exotic chemistry of a tree. We'll start with:
Bark
Up to 21 percent of a cord of wood may be bark. Much of it is used as fuel in forest
industry mills. It is also a source of chemicals, resins, waxes, vitamins, plywood
adhesives, plastic fillers, lacquers and oil-spill control agents. Bark is also used for
mulches and soil conditioners.
Wood Flour, Resins
Wood flour and melamine resins using cellulose filler are principal components of
dinnerware, electrical receptacles and parts, toys, handles for cooking utensils,
telephone housings, camera cases and appliance housings.
Cellulose
Ethyl cellulose and other chemical based cellulose are used in making tool handles,
photographic films, sausage casings and football helmets. Acetate filament yarns make
textile products such as clothing, drapes and rugs. Nitrocellulose is used in making solid
rocket propellants and other explosives.
Torain Yeast
Torula yeast is a high protein product made from wood sugars as a by-product of the
pulping process in papermaking. Type S Torula is used in baby food and cereals. Type F
Torula is used in feed supplements for cattle, fish and chickens. Type FP goes into pet
foods. Torula has been found to make bees and lobsters grow faster!
Turpentine, Tall Oil
Turpentine and tall oil are resinous materials that are also reclaimed from the
paper-pulping process. They are important ingredients in paint, varnish, adhesives,
asphalt, printing inks, rubber products, soaps and polishes. Synthesized essential oils
are used in chewing gum, toothpaste, menthol cigarettes, detergents and shampoos.
Spent Pulping Liquids
Lignosulfonates from spent sulphite pulping liquor are used in cleaning compounds,
insecticides, cement, ceramics, fertilizers, oilwell drilling muds, cosmetics, gummed tape
and certain pharmaceuticals (Aidomet and Aidoril for hypertension and L-Dopa for
Parkinson's disease are examples).
Energy
Bark, ground wood and spent pulping liquors provide an important source of the pulp and
paper industry's total energy requirements. Nationally, over half of the industry's energy
use is self-generated from these residues.
Lobsters and bees grow faster, chickens prosper, photographers have film for their
cameras, and mud additives make drilling easier for Texas oilmen. All because of chemicals
and by-products from trees. Now that you have a hint, get busy on that list of tree
products. Here's a suggestion that might help: Inventory just about everything in sight,
in the next room and out on the street. That'll give you a good start- but remember,
splinters don't count!
Why leaves change color. Outdoor Lab Contest Information