GROWTH AND UTILIZATION 



175 



The use of plant residues for pulp is fairly new. 

 Ten years ago there was little chipping of plant 

 residues for pulp. In 1952, however, the equiva- 

 lent of about 1.2 million cords, or 30 percent of the 

 pulpwood output in the Pacific Northwest, came 

 from this source. Residues for pulp had likewise 

 gained in the South and North. All together about 

 6 percent of the total pulpwood output in the 

 United States is derived from plant residues, 

 mostly slabs, edgings, other coarse sawmill residues 

 and veneer cores. In addition to pulp, practically 

 aU the raw material to supply the recent large ex- 

 pansion of the hardboard industry in the West con- 

 sists of sawmill and plywood residues. 



In lumber manufacture, about 55 percent of the 

 residues are used (table 110). The percentage is 

 considerably higher in other industries that have 

 better outlets for residues or can use them to 

 better advantage for fuel. Thus practically all of 

 the veneer and pulp mill residues are used.^* In 

 cooperage plants and other mills and plants like 

 bolting mills, shingle mills, box plants, excelsior 

 plants, and tm-nery and dimension plants, about 

 70 percent of the residues are used. 



Table 110. — Use of plant residues in the United 

 States and Coastal Alaska, by industry source 

 and type oj use, 1952 





Use 



Relation 

 of used 



Industry 



Fuel 



Fiber 



Other! 



Total 



residues 

 to total 

 residues 



Lumber - 



Veneer 



Pulps 



Mil- 

 lion 

 cu. ft. 

 1,397 

 131 

 170 

 25 

 29 



Mil- 

 lion 



cu. ft. 

 76 

 34 



Mil- 

 lion 

 cu. ft. 

 146 

 15 



Mil- 

 lion 

 cu. ft. 

 1, 619 

 180 

 170 

 27 

 36 



Per- 

 cent 

 55 

 88 

 100 



Cooperage 



Other « 



"¥)" 



2 



7 



67 

 73 



Total 



1,752 



110 



170 



2,032 



60 



' Includes material for cut stock, handles, brush blocks, 

 chemical wood, boxboard, particle board, floor-cleaning 

 compound, wood flour, insulation, bedding for livestock, 

 poultry litter, soil conditioner, metallurgical use, and 

 similar purposes. 



2 Includes planing mills integrated with sawmills. 



' Plant residues at pulp mills relate only to wood losses 

 in storage and in preparing the wood for pulping. Addi- 

 tional losses of wood substance incurred in the various 

 pulping processes are excluded. 



* Includes small dimension and turnery plants, shingle 

 mills, chemical and excelsior plants, and similar establish- 

 ments utilizing roundwood. 



* Less than 0.5 million cubic feet. 



'' Unlike residues resulting from other types of primary 

 manufacture, residues in preparing wood for pulping have 

 little or no particular use other than fuel. 



Because of the greater number of large plants 

 in the West and the greater population density 

 and better developed outlets in the North, utiliza- 

 tion of residues is comparatively higher in these 

 sections than in the South (table 111). These 

 apparent advantages are the principal reasons 

 why 88 percent of the residues used for pulp are in 

 the West and 44 percent of the utilized residues 

 other than those that go into fuel and pulp are in 

 the North. Log barkers and chippers now fast 

 coming into use in the South will, however, boost 

 the total of residues used for pulp in that section. 



Unused Residues Can Help Meet Addi- 

 tional Needs for Timber Products 



Greater use of plant residues could mean large 

 savings of growing stock. Except for fuel, the 

 surface has hardly been scratched and much that 

 is used for fuel could possibly be put to better use. 

 Unused residues, therefore, would seem to offer 

 substantial opportunities to meet additional needs 

 for products like pulp, hardboard, small dimension, 

 and miscellaneous items without commensurate 

 demands on growing stock. 



About 1.4 billion cubic feet, or two-fifths of all 

 plant residues, are unused (table 112). This 

 volume is roughly the equivalent of about 12 mil- 

 lion cords, or more than the entire volume of fuel- 

 wood cut from growing stock in 1952. 



Table 111. — Use oj plant residues in the United 

 States and Coastal Alaska, by section and type 

 of use, 1952 





Use 



Relation 

 of used 



Section 



Fuel 



Fiber 



Other' 



Total 



residues 

 to total 

 residues 



North 



Mil- 

 lion 



cu. ft. 

 252 

 702 

 795 



Mil- 

 lion 

 cu. ft. 

 2 

 12 

 96 



Mil- 

 lion 



cu. ft. 

 74 

 44 

 52 



Mil- 

 lion 

 cu. ft. 

 328 

 758 

 943 



Per- 

 cent 

 70 



South-. . .. -. 



51 



West _- . _ 



64 







Total, United 



States 



Coastal Alaska 



1, 749 

 3 



110 



170 



2,029 

 3 



60 



48 



United States and 

 Coastal Alaska.. 



1,752 



110 



170 



2,032 



60 



' Includes material for cut stock, handles, brush blocks, 

 chemical wood, boxboard, particle board, floor-cleaning 

 compound, wood flour, insulation, bedding for livestock, 

 poultry litter, soil conditioner, metallurgical use, and 

 similar purposes. 



- Less than 0.5 million cubic feet. 



