Plywood consumption

The single largest end use for hardwood plywood is interior wall panels, generally 3-ply and 1/4 and thinner, and frequently machined with decorative v-grooves. Furniture, cabinets, door skins and a number of specialties complete an array of end use products. Many of the non wall panel products can be characterized as being industrial panels and are of 5 or more ply veneer core, 3-ply particleboard core, or 3-ply medium density fiberboard (MDF) core construction. Broad end use patterns indicate that interior wall panels represent approximately 55% of total hardwood plywood consumption. Furniture, cabinets, and fixtures represent about 30%, and door skins and specialty products about 15% (2), Potential sources of formaldehyde in two of the more typical hardwood plywood constructions are displayed in Figure 1. 

Phenohc resins are produced by the condensation of phenol or a substituted phenol, such as cresol, with formaldehyde. These low cost resins have been produced commercially for more than 100 years and in the 1990s are produced by more than 40 companies in the United States. They are employed as adhesives in the plywood industry and in numerous under-the-hood appHcations in the automotive industry. Because of the cycHc nature of the automotive and home building industry, the consumption of phenol for the production of phenohc resins is subject to cycHc swings greater than that of the economy as a whole. 

In 1993, worldwide consumption of phenoHc resins exceeded 3 x 10 t slightly less than half of the total volume was produced in the United States (73). The largest-volume appHcation is in plywood adhesives, an area that accounts for ca 49% of U.S. consumption (Table 11). During the early 1980s, the volume of this apphcation more than doubled as mills converted from urea—formaldehyde (UF) to phenol—formaldehyde adhesives because of the release of formaldehyde from UF products. Other wood bonding applications account for another 15% of the volume. The next largest-volume application is insulation material at 12%. 

In 1932, the first plywood hot press was installed in the United States. This marked the advent of the large market for phenolic wood adhesives [51]. By 1962, the volume of phenolic wood adhesives had reached about 33 kt (solids) in the U.S. Growth was accelerated in 1962 with the development of Southern pine plywood. By 1979, the consumption of phenolic plywood adhesives exceeded 220 kt or about 25% of phenolic resin production [51]. Phenolic adhesive demand for wood products took another jump in 1964 with the commencement of waferboard production. The first oriented strandboard (OSB) plants were built in 1981 [52]. OSB soon replaced most of the waferboard production and began a period of... 

Apparent U.S. consumption of hardwood plywood in 1983 was 4.3 billion square feet surface measure having a value of about... 

Paper Overlays - (40% of wall panel consumption) are 1 to 2 mil printed paper films adhered to lauan plywood with PVA or other adhesive. Paper films are available in pre-topcoat or non pre-topcoat varieties. 

Bureau of the Census, Hardwood Veneer and Plywood, Facts for Industry, Series M 13A, monthly, March 1944-. Production, shipments, consumption, and stocks of hardwood plywood. Formerly Series 16-3 (March 1944-January 1946). 

Bureau of the Census, Softwood Plywood, Facts for Industry, Series M 13B, monthly January 1944-. Annual and monthly data on production, shipments, and stocks ol softwood plywood and on consumption and stocks of plywood materials. Formerly Series 16-1 (January 1944-December 1945). 

Department of Commerce, Lumber, Plywood and Allied Products—Industry Report, quarterly, with annual supplement. May 1944-September 1950. Production, consumption, and stocks of lumber industry. Includes data on softwood and hardwood plywood. 

The commodity thermosets of urea, melamine, and phenolics account for about one-third of building and construction industries resin consumption. Most of this is used for resin-bonded woods such as plywood, particle board, and oriented strand board. High-density polyethylene (HDPE), used primarily for rigid piping, accounts for about 5% of consumption. Other significant resins, accounting for 3-5% of total consumption, include other polyethylenes, unsaturated polyester, and polystyrene. 

Water-based Polymer Isocyanate (JIS name [7]) or Emulsion Polymer Isocyanate (EPI) adhesives were developed in Japan by Kuraray Co., Ltd, Koyo Sango Co., Ltd and Asahi Plywood Co., Ltd in the early 1970 s [8]. The driving forces were to establish new markets for poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and to develop alternatives to formaldehyde-based wood adhesives. The technology was patented [9], and thereafter licensed to different companies worldwide [8]. The licenses led to introduction of EPI adhesives into Europe, North America and Oceania. Since the EPI adhesives are of Japanese origin, their popularity is naturally concentrated in the Asian markets. Non-Asian consumption is growing, but the market for this adhesive type is still limited. 

Besides providing lumber, furniture, plywood and veneer, wood is the source of pulp board and paper and of hundreds of chemicals derived from cellulose, lignin and certain resins. Wood is also a major source of the world s fuel. The global consumption of wood reached a maximum in the 1980s since then, this level of use has been maintained or may even be decreasing. However, the number of species offered has diminished remarkably. The largest timber resources are in the Amazon basin, Central Africa and Southeast Asia. 

Amino resins are used in the manufacture of adhesives, molding compounds, paper and protective coatings, textile-treating resins, electrical devices. The melamines find use for buttons, dinnerware, and sanitary ware. The pattern of consumption of these resins is summarized in Tables II-IV. Note that bonding resins used for adhesives, laminating, and plywood account for 12 q of the consumption pattern. 

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