A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF MALAYSIAN WOOD WASTES AS SECONDARY RAW MATERIAL FOR PULPING

Abstract

RUSHDAN, I. 2006. A preliminary study of Malaysian wood wastes as secondary raw material for pulping.
In this work, we used waste wood from three Malaysian tropical hardwoods to understand the effects of
species on the size of chips and pulp properties. The three species were kekatong (Cynometra spp.), merbatu
(Parinari oblongifolia) and nyatoh (Madhuca laurifolia), categorized as heavy, medium and light hardwoods
respectively. Results showed that wood species had an effect on the distribution of size of chips and on the
quantity of chips accepted for kraft pulping. Wood species and chip size had an effect on pulp yield and
properties. Screened yield increased as the wood density decreased and kappa number increased as wood
density increased. The effects on pulp properties varied depending on wood species and/or chip size. This
study showed that the three tropical hardwood wastes studied were not suitable for pulp because of their
low yield and strength.