SAWMILL WOOD RESIDUE MARKET
The Canadian market for sawmill wood residues is 15 million dry tonnes per year, about 76% of the total supply. Fuel sales amount to 8 million ODt/y and the non-energy demand is 7 million Odt/y. Sawdust and shavings for board use is 13% of the supply and sawdust for pulp use, 9%. A break down of the market demand is provided in exhibit 1. The market value of non-energy products made from sawdust and shavings, is currently $2.1 billion per year, more than five times the total value of energy from wood fuel of $ 0.4 billion/year. The demand for shavings and sawdust for panel production and for market pulp is expected to double by 2020. Soil related uses including forestry, animal bedding, and landscaping will increase by 20%.
Hanam Canada has been active in supplying panel board adhesive systems to chemical companies. We have provided technical or marketing expertise to all of the major particle board resin suppliers in Canada. We have also provided advice to lumber and board producers seeking to get maximum value from their wood residue with value added projects. Many of these assignments have involved energy recovery. We have assisted with composting, soil enhancement, and forestry biomass recycling. A recent area of interest is developing greenhouse gas emission offset projects.
Exhibit 1. Market for sawmill wood residues, 1000s dry tonnes per year
Atlantic |
Quebec |
Ontario |
Man & Sask |
Alta |
BC |
Canada |
% |
|
| Fuel Sales | 1,260 |
2,019 |
612 |
192 |
349 |
3,621 |
8,053 |
40 |
| Sawdust for pulp | 0 |
417 |
236 |
0 |
0 |
1,154 |
1,807 |
9 |
| Sawdust & shavings board | 160 |
1,004 |
924 |
23 |
126 |
313 |
2,550 |
13 |
| Sawdust & shavings beds | 74 |
453 |
427 |
117 |
309 |
274 |
1,654 |
8 |
| Other agricultural uses | 3 |
20 |
25 |
2 |
43 |
148 |
241 |
1 |
| Forest land applications | 15 |
48 |
17 |
2 |
84 |
37 |
203 |
1 |
| Landscaping | 67 |
149 |
122 |
2 |
60 |
146 |
546 |
3 |
| Consumer products | 1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
| Burned without energy recovery | 206 | 1,639 | 256 | 38 | 669 | 2,060 | 4,868 | 24 |
| Total | 1,580 |
4,111 |
2,364 |
339 |
972 |
5,694 |
15,060 |
76 |
Most of Canada’s wood residue is used by 131 customers that use more than 20,000 Odt/y. The wood residue is produced by 257 sawmills that each produce more than 20,000 Odt/y. Sixty one customers use more than 100,000 ODt/y and 66 mills produce more than this amount. Twenty four customers use more than 200,000 ODt/y including two large board plants and twenty wood fueled power plants. The number of customers and suppliers by is broken down by region and size in Exhibit 2.
Exhibit 2. Number of customers and suppliers by region and size
Number of Suppliers |
||||||
| 1000s OD t/y | <2 |
2-19 |
20-99 |
100-199 |
200+ |
Total |
| Atlantic | 127 |
38 |
26 |
0 |
0 |
191 |
| Quebec | 98 |
16 |
55 |
10 |
6 |
185 |
| Ontario | 83 |
6 |
24 |
6 |
3 |
122 |
| Man & Sask | 17 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
26 |
| Alberta | 58 |
3 |
17 |
5 |
2 |
85 |
| BC | 125 |
33 |
65 |
30 |
3 |
256 |
| Total | 508 |
100 |
191 |
52 |
14 |
865 |
Number of Customers |
||||||
| Atlantic | 50 |
2 |
8 |
5 |
1 |
66 |
| Quebec | 100 |
8 |
26 |
15 |
6 |
155 |
| Ontario | 100 |
4 |
17 |
6 |
3 |
130 |
| Man & Sask | 20 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
23 |
| Alberta | 30 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
39 |
| BC | 30 |
19 |
17 |
6 |
14 |
86 |
| Total | 330 |
38 |
70 |
37 |
24 |
499 |
Mills producing more than 20,000 Odt/y of wood residue produce chips for pulping and are often able to sell their wood residuals as fuel to a nearby pulp and paper mill. Some of these mills have systems to separate sawdust and shavings from the bark and either sell this white wood or use it as fuel for their lumber dry kiln energy systems. These systems usually are designed to work on clean fuel and can not accept significant amounts of higher ash bark. The proportion of bark in the combined bark, sawdust, shavings, and breakage waste is estimated to be 53%. This bark factor ranges from 36% to 53%. Bark makes up less of the residue fraction if less of the lumber is planed, if shavings and sawdust are recovered, and if lumber recoveries are low. Wood species and age are also a factor.
Shavings from mills with dry kilns are the most desirable product. Mills that separate their dry shavings are able to sell them to companies that package them and distribute them to animal bedding customers. Dry sawdust is also desirable as poultry or dairy bedding. Green sawdust is also used in bedding but is not as desirable as dry sawdust. Bark is primarily used for energy, mulch and soil related uses.
Pulp and paper mill energy
Pulp and paper mill demand for wood fuel is equivalent to 8.5 million tonnes per year and is expected to increase as shown in exhibit 3. If forest harvests were to increase from 184 to 225 million cubic meters per year, this projected growth would be 3.7 million tonnes per year. A lower forecast is based on a growth in the harvest to only 200 million cubic meters per year and increased competition from natural gas in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and BC and hydro electricity in Quebec and Newfoundland.
Forest land applications
About 200,000 Odt/y of wood residue from sawmill operations is used in forestry operations. Detailed descriptions of soil rehabilitation measures are described in the BC Forest Practices Code for abandoned logging roads and landings. Monitoring approaches based on recording tree survival and vegetation composition and establishing fixed photo points are being used to help learn from mistakes and improve successes. Another example of forest land application is the trend toward bringing less roundwood to pulp and paper mills leaving more bark in the forest. Portions of the pulp and paper mill chip supply for Weldwood, Hinton, Alberta Newsprint, Whitecourt, Bowater, Thunder Bay and Gatineau, Abitibi, Beaupre, and St. Laurent Paperboard, La Tuque, is from in-the-woods chipping operations.Prices
| Sawmill Product |
$/Oven Dried tonne |
| Mixed sawmill waste | -3 |
| Hog fuel loaded | 3 |
| Hogged bark 95% | 10 |
| Sawdust clean | 16 |
| Kiln dried sawdust bulk | 30 |
| Kiln dried shavings bulk | 35 |
| Composted bark 95% | 40 |
| Kiln dried shavings bag | 100 |