Engineering Wood Products from Eucalyptus spp.

• Published in: Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
• Main Author: Seng Hua L.; Wei Chen L.; Antov P.; Kristak L.; Md Tahir P.
• Format: Review
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85124691760&doi=10.1155%2f2022%2f8000780&partnerID=40&md5=42526c3729bff8d3247628143de6c4db

Forest covers 4.06 billion hectares (ha) or 31% of the total land area worldwide, where 93% (3.75 billion ha) are natural regenerating forests and the remaining 7% (294 million ha) are planted forests. Eucalyptus spp., being one of the most important plantation species, has been planted in 95 countries around the world, and the area of plantation has exceeded 22.57 million ha. In the southern hemisphere, it is a significant industrial fast-growing tree species. These plantations serve as a valuable resource for the timber and fibre-based industries. Eucalyptus is the main fibre resource for the pulp and paper industries in developed countries. Timber extracted from the planted eucalyptus trees has long been used for solid wood and its fibres were used for manufacturing medium-density fibreboard. In comparison to most softwood species, Eucalyptus timber is reported to have a higher rigidity, making it ideal for manufacturing structural products. Therefore, this paper presents a review and analysis of the recent state of research on the utilisation of planted eucalyptus for engineered wood products (EWPs) manufacturing. This study investigated Eucalyptus-based EWPs such as particleboard, fibreboard, oriented strand board, laminated veneer lumber, plywood, glue laminated lumber, and cross-laminated lumber. The feasibility of using planted Eucalyptus in the production of EWPs, as well as the challenges encountered, was also discussed. © 2022 Lee Seng Hua et al.