DOST-FPRDI develops wood ‘super dryer’

Now, a 50-millimeter thick lumber can be dried in just 24 days instead of the maximum 198 days and just 10 days to kiln-dry a 25-mm thick gmelina wood instead of 75-150 days.

This is possible with the use of the furnace-type lumber dryer developed by the Los Baños-based Department of Science and Technology-Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI).

In drying experiments done by the institution, it was found that the seasoning time for the hard-to-dry gmelina can be cut by as much as 93 percent.

With the use of the technology, 25-mm thick gmelina lumber with moisture content (MC) of 73.8-96.9 percent and 25-43 percent can be dried to final MCs of 11.9 and 6-7 percent, respectively, in only 10 days while a 50-mm thick lumber with 88 percent and 90 percent MC can be dried to 9.26-15.7 percent and 9-12 percent, respectively, in only 24 days.

The technology has been adopted by Val Tiu of Marbel, South Cotabato, the Northlandia Enterprise in Santiago City (Isabela), and Tiber Woodcraft in Butuan City, all furniture makers catering to the local and export markets.

Also known as "yemane" (scientific name: Gmelia arboria), gmelina has been extensively studied by FPRDI.

Dr. Florentino O. Tesoro emphasized: "Gmelina wood promises to be an ideal raw material for the country’s wood furniture and handicraft industries.

Aside from furniture and handicraft production, gmelina may also be used for telecommunication poles, packaging materials, pallets, wood wool cement boards, carvings, moldings, toys, musical instruments, resin-bonded particleboard, and veneer."

Wood processors in South Cotabato and Butuan City get their supply of gmelina lumber from industrial tree plantations that continue to enjoy successful operations despite rumors that have spread over Mindanao that the species has a toxic effect on livestock and other vegetation.

These rumors are unfounded and there had been no documented reports on the toxicity of gmelina on animals and other plants, according to a primer published by the Los Baños- based Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB). - Rudy A. Fernandez