Forest product industry includes chemical companies producing wood pulp, fiber reduced chemically and used in manufacturing products like LCD screens, diapers, toilet paper, construction paper, etc. #ForestProud #SciComm #TimberTalks

Kraft pulping process involves “cooking” pine & hardwood chips in a solution for several hours, chemicals attack the lignin - acts as glue, filling space between components of the cell wall and binds them together to provide structural integrity - creating wood pulp.

@Treephys asks what fraction of hardwood is provided in a kraft paper mill. Above I acknowledge chemical companies can be wood producing. Surprise right? The facility I have in mind regarding the question makes wood pulp for products mentioned earlier in thread, including paper.

Consider supply & demand - amount of a product and the desire of buyers for it - dictates what products are manufactured. For said mill to keep up with demand for wood pulp needed for products mentioned earlier, it consumes on average 60:40 % pine & hardwood chips, respectively.

Deliveries are managed based on monthly targets/forecasts for pine and hardwood chips & roundwood. In other words, planning for deliveries is a very fluid process and many variables are considered when planning for purchase of this raw material.

In my experience hardwood is a component of most timber sales that end up at this pulp facility. I have limited knowledge here and don’t know if you would see clearcuts or thinning of hardwood stands. @Leslie_Boby can you provide additional insight?

I hope this thread answers your questions regarding pulp facilities and hopefully the #ScienceTwitter audience learned something new today! That’s my #TimberTalks y’all.