Wood composites

Article By:

Rowell, Roger M. Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.

Last reviewed:June 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.801620

Wood-based composites and a combination of two or more elements held together by a matrix. By this definition, what we call “solid wood” is a composite. Solid wood is a three-dimensional composite composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin polymers with smaller amounts of inorganics and extractives held together in a lignin matrix. Among the advantages of developing wood composites from solid wood are the ability to: (1) use trees or tree parts that are too small for lumber or veneer production (includes thinning, limbs, brush, and other forest biomass), (2) use underutilized wood species, (3) use mixed wood species, (4) remove defects, (5) create more uniform materials, (6) develop materials that are stronger than the original solid wood, (7) make materials of different shapes, and (8) produce both large-volume low-value and low-volume value-added materials. A beneficial by-product is the removal of biomass from overcrowded forests, especially in the western United States, to improve forest health and to reduce the fuel load that increases the threat of catastrophic fires.

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