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Wood Products
Research projects drive efficiency innovations in wood products sector
Canadian companies continue to cut their reliance on natural gas and electricity byturning to cost-effective biomass energy.
Wood Products Manufacturing Sector NAICS 321000
Energy Intensity and Economic Output (19902002)
Data source: Canadian Industrial Energy End-Use Data and Centre (CIEEDAC). Development of Energy Intensity Indicators Analysis for Canadian Industry 19902002. February 3, 2004. Simon Fraser University.
Wood Products Manufacturing Sector NAICS 321000
Energy Intensity Index (19902002)
Base Year 1990 = 1.00
Data source: Canadian Industrial Energy End-Use Data and Centre (CIEEDAC). Development of Energy Intensity Indicators Analysis for Canadian Industry 19902002. February 3, 2004. Simon Fraser University.
Wood Products Manufacturing Sector NAICS 321000
Energy Sources in Terajoules per Year (TJ/yr.)
Data source: Canadian Industrial Energy End-Use Data and Centre (CIEEDAC). Development of Energy Intensity Indicators Analysis for Canadian Industry 19902002. February 3, 2004. Simon Fraser University.
Profile: The wood products sector includes three industry groups: establishments engaged in sawing logs into lumber and similar products; companies that make products that improve the natural characteristics of wood by manufacturing veneers, plywood, reconstituted wood panel products and engineered wood assemblies; and establishments that make a diverse range of wood products, such as millwork. At the end of 2002, the industry consisted of nearly 3000 establishments across Canada that employed just under 20 000 workers.
Actions
The Canadian wood products sector is an eager and active participant in the search for energy efficiency and the reduction of GHG emissions. On behalf of the industry, and funded by NRCan's Office of Energy Efficiency, Forintek Canada Corp. is conducting an industry-wide study to benchmark energy consumption in each of its major sub-sectors. The study will be complemented by results from an in-depth study of lumber-drying activities carried out in Quebec. In parallel, Forintek is reviewing international literature to identify the world's best forest industry technology. A final report will be available in 2004.
A demonstration project funded by the Government of Quebec was conducted jointly by Forintek and Hydro-Québec. It focused on electricity-based energy systems, such as vacuum radio-frequency dryers, high-performance heat pumps and a high-pressure, fast-release chamber to dry wood more rapidly and more efficiently. It led to the development of an interesting alternative to heated ponds for thawing logs before winter debarking. Parties are now seeking funding to extend the project to other segments of the industry.
Individual companies are also taking action to improve energy efficiency. Gérard Crête et Fils inc. of Saint-Sévérin, Québec, is experimenting with the use of a heat pump to save energy in its drying kiln. Erie Flooring and Wood Products is working with a group of companies to install a waste-to-energy system at its plant in West Lorne, Ontario. The project will convert wood residue from the Erie Flooring plant into BioOil. The fuel will be used to drive a power generation system, capable of producing 2.5 megawatts of electricity and 12 000 lb./hr. of steam for Erie Flooring's operations, and provide green power to Ontario's electricity grid. The project is expected to be in operation in the fall of 2004.
Achievements
Canada's wood products sector consumed 136 872 TJ of fossil fuels and electricity in 2002. Although rising production in the sector has driven energy consumption upward, actions taken by companies to boost energy efficiency have also led to substantial improvements in energy intensity.
Recent rises in energy prices will provide a powerful incentive for manufacturers of wood products to implement low-cost energy efficiency measures. Throughout the industry, companies continue to install cost-effective biomass energy systems based on wood waste, displacing the use of costly natural gas and electricity.
Challenges
Compared with many other industrial activities, the fabrication of wood products does not require a lot of energy. Over the years, the industry has replaced expensive energy sources such as oil and natural gas fuels with cheaper, readily available fuels such as bark and wood residues. This has reduced the industry's GHG intensity and reduced the cost of wood residue disposal.
Although the sector's energy consumption per unit of output is relatively low, overall production has continued to increase, and a growing proportion of lumber is dried before delivery. Because most of the sector's wood drying now takes place in Canada, the industry's total energy consumption will likely continue to increase. Moreover, the secondary and tertiary transformation of raw wood into finished products is also growing, and although this has beneficial effects on the Canadian economy, it increases the sector's use of energy. Regular lumber is considered dry at an 18 percent humidity level; lumber used for secondary manufacturing can require levels as low as 6 to 9 percent, thus increasing total energy consumption and the amount of energy consumed per unit of production.
More total demand for energy is now beginning to tighten supplies of by-product fuels such as wood residues and is putting upward pressures on energy costs. This trend is intensifying the industry's interest in energy efficiency.
