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A composite solution?

A researcher in Northern British Columbia may have found a new use for trees that have been killed by the mountain pine beetle epidemic.

A researcher in Northern British Columbia may have found a new use for trees that have been killed by the mountain pine beetle epidemic.

Sorin Pasca, originally from Romania, has created an alternative to plywood and gypsum, using cement and wood chips from trees killed by the pine beetle — lodgepole pine.

Pasca began his research over three years ago, after he came to B.C. to continue his post-graduate studies in forestry at the University of Northern British Columbia.

“I noted the big issue was the epidemic with all the beetle killed wood, and I shifted a little bit from forestry towards wood products, trying to find something useful for the beetle wood,” he explained.

In the lab, he experimented with different ratios of cement and wood chip mixtures, poured the combinations into a mold and left them to set. The result was a board that looks like a hybrid of plywood and concrete: pale grey with chunks of wood.

Pasca says the product — which he refers to as pine cement composite — is water-resistant and stronger than similar products on the market today, and even though it’s part cement, can be nailed or cut with normal woodworking tools.

The composite is considered remarkable because typically, cement repels organic matter.

“Mixing wood and cement is not like a normal thing… most of the species are not suitable to be mixed with cement, because wood is an organic material,” said Pasca.

He explained that wood contains sugars and other extractives, which normally inhibit an important chemical reaction known as cement hydration. But lodgepole pine has a lower level of extractives, and there is an additional drop in moisture content when the tree is killed, which makes lodgepole pine the ideal wood to combine with cement.

“Definitely one of the most exciting moments was when I found that the wood was compatible with cement… that was actually a big relief for me, because otherwise everything would have been in vain.”

Pasca says the finished product isn’t quite as strong as concrete, as wood is weaker than typical mineral aggregate that is used to make concrete.

“But I’m not looking at this product like a replacement for concrete, I’m looking at it for interior applications as a building material.”

Originally, he intended to create an alternative to drywall or gypsum board, but now, he believes the product may have other interior uses.

“…Now that the research is complete, we’re seeing all kinds of additional applications, from countertops to flooring,” Pasca said in a press release issued last month. “It’s a beautiful product that combines all of the structural advantages of concrete with the aesthetic quality of wood.”

Pasca says that unlike gypsum or other wood-based products, this new composite is water-resistant.

“So you can have it soaked in water for two weeks and nothing happens, because it’s based on cement.”

He also points out that the mixture can be poured into a mould, which means it can potentially be made into any shape or form.

“Usually these wood-cement composites are made by pressings… but in my case, I used a different method, which actually allows me to pour the mixture into a form, so I can get more than a board. I can get any shape I want.”

Pasca says formaldehyde, petroleum-based binders and other resins are not used to create the composite, so it is a natural, more environmentally friendly product.

The product has caught the interest of a number of people, including local planners with an eye on the Olympics.

Kevin Damaskie, sustainability coordinator for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, was one of the many people who contacted Pasca after hearing of his discovery. Pasca said Damaskie has expressed interest in potentially incorporating this new “B.C.-based, sustainable, innovative product” into the athletes’ village and Celebration Plaza, which are in various stages of planning and construction.

“I noticed the message from Whistler and, you know, it’s hard to promise right now, not having an application, but definitely if something comes up in the near future, we will be happy to have the product into the Olympic village,” said Pasca.

Whether or not the new product can be used will depend on patent applications and product development timeline.

The Ministry of Forest and Range recently released a report that estimates by 2007, the mountain pine beetle epidemic in British Columbia will have killed 530 million cubic metres of pine, and projects this number will increase to one billion cubic metres by 2015.

The report also states there is some uncertainty about the length of time dead pine can be harvested for saw logs or other products, but that shelf-life is determined by a number of variables, “including climates, market, technology and the ability to develop new products in which dead pine can be utilized.”

While pine beetle infestation stains the pine blue, it does not have any effect on the strength of the timber, and can still be used for standard framing and wood products, as long as it is used within a certain timeframe.

“Once the beetle has attacked and killed the tree, then basically you’ve got degradation of the tree as it goes on as a standing dead tree, and that’s where you come to the issues that are referred to as shelf-life — what kind of commercial value you can get out of that tree after its standing dead,” said Rob Parisotto. He is director of the mountain pine beetle program for Forestry Innovation Investment, a government agency that supports the forestry sector.

Parisotto explained Pasca’s composite uses trees that would typically be past the point where they could be processed for dimensional lumber, and creates a product that could be an alternative to going out and cutting down a healthy living tree.

Parisotto said the government is interested in alternative products like Pasca’s because they are predominantly harvesting trees for the production of dimensional lumber, and it simply won’t be possible to harvest all of the trees have been killed by the beetle before they become useless as lumber.

“The extent of the attack will be such that there will be too much volume and there will be a significant component of that volume which will extend past a useable product for dimensional lumber,” Parisotto explained.

“… We’ve got to look at the best opportunities that we can do through mill technology to capture the value of that into lumber, and then look beyond what may happen as there is a component of that fibre that goes past solid wood uses.”

The forest ministry has been looking for alternative ways to use this pine beetle timber since the epidemic began, awarding four major forest licenses in October 2005 to a renewable energy company interested in salvaging attacked stands for industrial wood pellets.

Early this month, the forest ministry announced it would be investing $16.1 million into a forestry research initiative, known as the Forest Investment Account Forest Science Program (FIA-FSP). More than $2 million of that funding will go towards 37 pine beetle projects, focusing on effects the epidemic has on wildlife habitat, hydrological impacts, salvage harvesting, and re-growth potential.

Pasca and his team are now in the process of patenting his composite product, and finding an appropriate facility so they can begin developing specific applications and conduct necessary testing.