Post on 09-May-2020
INTERNATIONALTROPICALTIMBERORGANIZATION(ITTO)
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EXECUTINGAGl!:NCY:
FINALTECHNICALREPORTN02:
FORESTRYRESEARCHINSTITUTEOF
GHANA(FORTG)
TITLEOFPRE-PROJECT: DEVELOPMENTOFENERGYALTERNATIVESFORTHEEFFICIENTUTILIZATION OF WOOD PROCESSINGRESIDUE: CO-GENERATIONAND
BRIQUETTEPRODUCTION.
SERIALNUMBER: ITTOPROJECTPP053/021Rev. I(I)
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COMMERCIAL OPTIONSFOREFFICIENT UTILIZATION OFWOOD RESIDUE.
PLACE OFISSIJE:
DATE OF IsSITE:
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KUMASl, GHANA
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FEBRUARY 2005
TABLEOFCONTENT
ABSTRACT. ....... .................. ........................................................................,. ,
I. INTRODUCTION. ................................................................................ I
2. MILL RESIDUEUTILIZATION2.1 . Woodfuel. ..................................................................................... I
2.1. I. Briquette. .............................................................................. 22.1.1.1. The history of the briquette industry in Ghana. ............................ 32.1.1.2. The attitude of fuel consumers to briquette. ................................ 32.1. 1.3. Current and potential local demand for briquette. ......................... 3
2.1.1.3. I. The bakery market. ..................................................... 42.1.1.3.2. Demand by the brick and tile industry. .............................. 42.1.1.3.3. Briquette asdomestic fuel. ............................................ 42.1.1.3.4. Potential demand. ....................................................... 5
2.1 .2. Fuelwood .............................................................................. 5
2.1 .3. Charcoal ............................................................................... 5
2.1.4. Policy considerations on woodfuel use in Ghana. ............................... 62.2 . Pulp and paper ................................................................................ 62.3. Suitable technologies. ....................................................................... 7
2.3. I. Wood-based panels. ................................................................. 72.3 .2. Sawnwood ............................................................................. 72.3.3. Wafer boards. ......................................................................... 7
2.3.4. Strand board. ....................................................................------82.3.5. Particle board. ........................................................................ 8
2.3.6. Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF).............................................. 82.3.7. Secondary processing. .............................................................. 8
2.4. Problems to be encountered in wood residue utilization. .............................. 9
3. SIZEOFMARKET3.1 . Introduction .............................--------.........~~~~~~~""""""""""""""" '
3.2. Market products ..................................................................------------93.2. I. Methodology. ......................,................................................. I O
3.2. 1.1. Location/site of data collection. ............................................. 10
3.2.1.2. Sample size for the communities. .......................................... I I3.2.1.3 . Analysis ...............................-----------..............""""""""' I I
3.2.1.3. I. Consumers'.............................................................. 11
3.2 .1.3 .2. Retailers .................................................................. I 23.2.1.3.3. Remarks. ................................................................. 12
3.2.1.4. Institutions. ..................................................................... 13
3.2.1.4. I. Statistical services department. ....................................... 133.2.1.4.2. Resource Management Support Centre ........................... 133.2.1.4.3. Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD)... Of FC. ..... 133.2 .1.4.4. Remarks .................................................................. I 4
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4. ENVIRONMENTALFACTORSAFFECTINGWOODRESIDUEGENERATIONANDUTILIZATION
144.1. Introduction. ..................
4.2. Methodology ................................................................................. I 54.2. I. Findings. .............................................................................. I 54.2.2. Suggestions to curtail the pollution problem. .................................... 16
5. SOCIALFACTORSINFLUENCINGTHEUTILIZATIONOF WOODRESIDUE5.1. Gender and health. ........................................................................... 175.2. Education/information. ..................................................................... 185.3. Location of the wood industries. ........................................................... 185.4. Income levels ................................................................................ I '
6. CONCLUSION. ................................................................................... I ,
7. RECO^, I^^IENDATIONS. ...................................................................... 19
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................. 2 I
Gn IX ...........................................-----.----------
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ABSTRACT
In Ghana, for every tree that is felled 50% of the tree volume is left in the forest in the fonn
of branch wood, crown wood and stumps. Of the wood transported to the processing mills to
be processed 12%, 20%, 17%, 21%, 23%, and 16% are generated in the forrn of sawdust,
off-cuts ,slabs and edgings, rotary veneer residues, deftsctive veneers and off-cuts from rotary
plywood production respectively . Some of the residues are used to produce flooring
parquet, packaging materials, laminated products, finger -jointed products and wood fuel.
Other potential uses include medium density, fibreboard, particleboard and briquettes. The
study has revealed that little is know aboutthe amount of residue generated by the mills and
how much can be used and has been used for various products. Currently, there is one
briquette factory in Ghana. The possibility of establishing another plant will depend on: i)
The attitude of the consuming public to the product. ii) The current and potential local
demand (market size) in)Increase raw material base for large scale production.
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Potential market or uses for briquette include:
. Brickand Tileproduction
. Commercial bakeries
. Domestickitchens
. Institutional kitchensand' chopbars'
. Small scale enterprise example: soap inariufa. cmring, palm oil processing, fish
smoking, local distilleries etc.
. Mineral oreprocessing
. Processing heat(woodprocessing)
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Firewood and charcoal are the sole woodfuels known and used by the communities.
Charcoal is however much more expensive and firewood is becoming increasingly
unavailable whilst piles of sawdust remain unutilized. Direct burning of sawdustis very
inconvenient and also requires specialsawduststoves. Briquettes however can be used with
the conventional firewood stoves and is relatively cleaner than firewood. The product
however is not known to the consuming public .The scope therefore exists for introducing
briquette as domestic fuel. Accessto this fuel made from otherwise waste material would
also help conserve the wood resources and contribute to environmental sanity.
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Therefore, to realize economic, political and social development all people need to have
access to affordable modem energy services and anthe services they can provide while at the
same time protecting the environment and providing security.
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COMMERCIAL OPTIONS FOR EFFICIENT UTILIZATIONOF
WOODRESIDIJE
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IINTRODUCTION
Ghana' s timber industry has the capacity to produce lumber, veneer, plywood,
particleboard and a wide variety of mouldings and profileboards (Playdell G, 1994). In the
process of producing these products a large amount of wood residue is generated in the fonn
of peeler core, bark veneer clippings, wood shavings, off-cuts, sawdust, slicerboard, slabs and
edgings. Some of these residues are currently used directly to produce flooring parquet,
broomsticks, packaging material, laminated products, finger. jointed products and woodfuel.
Other current uses include fencing, boiler fuel, poultry bed and furniture. The potential uses
of mill residues are the reconstituted wood products, such as wood cement board, oriented
strand board (OSB), fibreboard, flakeboard, medium density fibreboard (MDF) and
hardboard. Other potential uses include filler for glue, briquette, carving and charcoal .
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2 MILLERSmtIE UTILIZATION.
The commercial options available for using wood residues are discussed below.
2.1 Woodfuel
Woodfuelis one of the main products of the forest. Approximately 48.1% of the world's total
wood removals from the forest and outside the forest are used for energy purposes. The
developed countries use only 30 percent of wood produced for energy while the developing
countries consume 80 percent for the same purpose (Energy Commission, Ghana, 2002). In
1999 total world wood harvest was estimated as 3,591 million in , of which 48.1% was
classified as woodfuel(FAO). For most of the last decade, woodfuel accounted for more than
50% of the world wood harvest(Solberg, 1996). Only in the lasttwo years of the 20'' centuryhas woodfuel production fallen to less than 50% of the total harvest (FAO, 2002). Projection
of future woodfuel consumption in most models (FAO, 1995; Apsey and Reed, 1995) are
essentially based on a continuation of trends recorded in historical data estimated and
reported by FAO. However, the actual consumption may be considerably higher than that
reported by agencies such as FAO. Sharma at a1(1992) suggest higher consumption level
than the official figures, whiles Nilsson (1996) reports a number of different sources that
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suggest a significant portion of woodfuelconsumption may go unreported. The complexity of
the systems, actors, dynamics and relationships between forest and energy sectors, is outlined
in some detailed by Trossero et a1. , (1998).
For developing countries, woodfuels are a vitalIy important component of primary energy
supply (ECkholm et a1, 1984), principalIy for cooking and home space heating, and also
cottage industries.
Woodfuel exists in three main forms, namely, fuelwood, charcoal and briquette. In Ghana
gross national woodfuel consumption is estimated at 18 million tonnes per annum ( Energy
Coinmissiom 2002 ). Also the bulk of the energy supply is from firewood and charcoal.
Woodfuels account for about 71+I percent of total primary energy demand. 90% of the
woodfuel supply in Ghana is obtained directly from the natural forest while logging and
processing residues constitute 10 percent. In 2000, the annual production of wood in Ghana
was about 30 million tonnes of which 18 million tonnes were available and accessible for
woodfuel. If this trend of consumption continues, Ghana is likely to consume more than 25
million tonnes offuel wood by the year 2020 (Energy Commission, Ghana, 2002).I~ ~
In Ghana woodfuels (fuelwood and charcoal) accounted for about 66% of the country's total
annual energy consumption with imported petroleum and electricity making up the balance
for 20% and 14% respectively (Hagan B. E, 1988). Notwithstanding the significance of
woodfuels in the energy sector of Ghana, the information on the level and patterns of
woodfuels demand of households, which is the highest consumers of woodfuels is not up to
date. A reliable estimation of the future demand of woodfuels is crucial for the planning of
interventions which are geared towards the sustainability of the resource.
2.1. I Briquette
Briquette bum almost without smoke. It has a much higher calorific value of 22
megt!joules/kg (dry wood has only 20 megt^joules/ICg and that for charcoal is 25MJ/ICg)
(Nketiah, 1980). Briquettes are more compact and uniform than firewood, making it easier to
transport or store (Resh, 1982). It has lower moisture content and good burning
characteristics. It gives cleaner burning (less smoke and ash). It is therefore the preferred fuel
by bakers and brick and the tile factories (Nketiah, 1988).
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2.1.1.1 The history of the briquette industry in Ghana
There was a single briquette plant in Ghana, Chaowus Ltd at Akim Oda. The plant was in
production in 1985. The installed capacity of the Choawus briquette machine operating on 3
shifts was only 2052 tonnes. It produced about 1100 tonnes/year briquette. The totalsawdust
demand including the amount combusted to heat the sawdust was approximately 2800m
(solid wood equivalent) which was obtained at no charge from the Akim Oda area. This
quantity was about 60% of the sawdust processed in the area and only 3% of the nation-wide
sawdust production. The plant is no longer in operation due primarily to management and
financing problems. Currently there is no briquette plant in the country (Nketiah, 1980).
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The possibility of establishing another plant will depend on an assessment offactors such as:
I. The attitude of the consuming public to the product.
2. The current and potential local demand (market size).
3. Possible raw material base for large scale production and expansion of the industry.
i. - 2.1.1.2 The attitude offuel consumers to briquette
The introduction of briquette on the well established woodfuel market, as can be expected
was characterized by suspicion, lack of confidence and unfair comparison with fuelwood in
price and with charcoal in quality. A vigorous publicity campaign will therefore be necessary
initially (Cosgrove-Davies, 2002)
Briquette used to be popular among bakers and brick & tile factories in the AGCra-Terna
Metropolitan area. Reasons fortheir preference included the following:
I. They are clean and of appropriate size, needing no further splitting (unlike wood) to it
is easy to handle and use.
2. Compared with firewood, briquette has higher heat value.
3. It has a consistent and longer burning time without frequent stoking and attention.
4. Briquette gives outlittle or no smoke.
5. It produces good quality charcoal after burning.
2.1.1.3 Current and potential local demand for briquette
Interviews and discussions with bakeries, brick & tile factories and other small scale
industries using charcoal indicate that they are interested in briquette. Unfortunately the
product is not on the market. In the northern part of the country, most of the people are not
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familiar with the product. Hence there is a need to establish a pilot plant to demonstrate to the
people the usefulness of briquette.
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2.1.1.3. I The bakery Market.
The market among bakers wasjust a small part of a bigger market in the late 1980s. Out of
the 56 bakery zones in the AGCra-Terna area, only 15 were reached with briquette and even
then coverage within these zones was about 45%.
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2.1.1.3.2 Demand by the brick and tile industry.
It is estimated that one tonne of fuelwood is required for 1000 pieces of bricks, tiles and
roofing ridges. For an annual production of6 million pieces, (ie for medium roofing tiles) and
300,000 roofing ridges, 6000 tonnes fuelwood is required. With the respective average
calorific values of 3.4 kcaVkg and 7.8kcak/kg for fuelwood and briquette, this fuelwood
requirement will be equivalent of 2,615 metric tonnes (Nketiah at a1, 1988).
There are four such brick & tile factories with capacities of 2052 tonnes at Afienya, Ankaful,
GIHOC and Prampram factories. There are five others with about half this capacity. Thus
annual briquette requirement for only these factories will be 17000 tonnes. To satisfy the
demand of the brick and tile industry alone would require four (4) briquette factories with
similar capacity.
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2.1.1.3.3 Briquette as anomestic fuel
The use of briquette is possible in the household sector mainly as a substitute for fuelwood,
compared with which briquette has superior burning characteristics even though its flameless
combustion may be seen as disadvantageous.
Fuelwood as a household fuelis used mostly in the rural areas where most people obtain it
very cheaply, ifnot free. Moreover, the rural sector is the most conservative so that briquette
must be reasonably priced ifit is to replace fuelwood. Charcoal users may also be reluctant to
use briquettes due to its tendency to give smoke. With significant price advantage however
the switch from charcoal to briquette can happen.
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2.1.1.3.4 Potential demand
The potential demand for briquette from the bakers and brick manufacturers alone, located
only in the main urban areas, is estimated to be 45000 tonnes per year (Nketia, 1988)
Allowing for possible switch from fuel wood to briquette by fish smokers, 'chop bar' and
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institutional kitchens could raise the potential market for briquettes close to three quarter of a
million tonnes per year (Nketia ,1988)
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2.1.2 Fuelwood
This is the cheapest of the 3 and is used mostly in the rural and pen-urban areas.
It is bulky to transport over long distance which makes delivery cost very high. It is not very
convenient to use due to the smoke and sparks. It is used in homes of low income earners for
cooking. It is also used for commercial activities such as bakery and brick making etc. in the
urban and rural settings. Due to increasing supply distance (to the cities) and the concomitant
costs involved, wood processing residues, particularly log ends, bark and slabs offer
attractive commercial options for smallto medium scale infonnal commercial activities.
2.1.3 Charcoal
Carbonization or making of charcoal concentrates the carbon in wood. The basic process has
been carried out for hundreds of years and involves the slow burning of wood in low oxygen
environment. The process reduces the weight and volume and concentrates the energy into
easily transportable and storable fonn (Satoriaka, 1982).
Most charcoal is made from wood although there are other less abundant materials such as
coconut shell and bone which provide very important and valuable charcoals for specialized
use. Nonnally wood processing residues are converted to charcoal in the vicinity of the mills,
particularly those that are in the rural areas. Most of the charcoal producers use earth kiln.The residues that are used include offcuts, slabs, edgings, trimmings and decayed logs. Log
Grids are also used.
Charcoal is easy to transport over long distances and is the most popular of all domestic fuels.
It is used mostly for domestic purposes in the urban and wood deficit areas as well as in
boarding institutions, hospitals, restaurants and chop bars. In the urban areas, charcoal
consumption may exceed firewood consumption by nearly 10 to I on a gross energy-basis. Inthe small scale industrial sector, some charcoal is also used in forges by blacksmiths, gold-
and silversmiths and fortraditional casting of aluminium pots.
The consumption of charcoal is projected to grow at a fastrate of6% per annum compared to
all other sources of energy as a result of increased urbanization with the attendant shift from
fuelwood to charcoal.
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Portable kilns can handle millresidues well and to a less extent bark. Sawmillresidues often
contain a high proportion of bark, but apart from giving rise to a slightly more dusty and
friable productthe quality is generally suitable for non-specialised use.
Sawdust is not suitable for carbonizing in the nonnaltypes of kiln or retort but can be
carbonized satisfactorily in a Herreschofffumace (Earl, 1974)
2.1.4 Policy considerations on woodf"elmse in Ghana
To address the high and growing demand for woodfuels the Government (Ministry of
Energy) is examining the following policy considerations ( Energy Coinmissiom Ghana,
2002)
I. Support for the forestry sector to ensure sustainable management of the country's
natural forests and woodlands;
2. Ensure the design and implementation of a regulatory framework for commercial
transportation and marketing of woodfiiel.
3. Regulate charcoal exports to ensure that only charcoal from wood waste and planted
forest are exported.
4. Establish the needed institutional framework to enhance and co-ordinate woodfuel
related activities as an integral part of national energy development.
5. Promote improved technologies and higher levels of efficiency in the production ofcharcoal and use of woodfuels.
6. Support the development, promotion and introduction of alternative fuels for thesubstitution of woodfuels.
This pre-project is a response to issues 5 and 6 and to some extent issue number 3. The
findings so far reveal very interesting possibilities.
2.2 Pulpandpaper
In Ghana pulp and paper mills are non-existent. There are some conversion factories though.
The use of wood residue to produce fibre however, can not be undertaken immediately
because of the huge initial capital required.
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2.3 Suitable Technologies
Some suitable current and potential technologies that could be promoted for processing
wood residues include: sawnwood, wafer boards, strand board, particleboard, medium
density fibreboard (MDF) and secondary processing. So far only the reprocessing of bigger
residues like peeler cores and slicer planks into lumber for furniture is done to any
appreciable degree. There is still a huge scope in reprocessing for wood-based panel
production.
2.3. I Wood-based panels
Wood based panels consist of wood particles of various sizes, geometry and orientationcombined with resin or other binders.
Particles may vary from complete sheets of veneer, through relatively large wafers, small
flakes or other wood particles - shavings, sawdust, etc. and strands of fibrous woody
material, down to individual wood fibres as produced from paper pulp. Except in the case of
plywood and veneers, the quality of raw material that is used is unsuited for sawnwood to be
utilized including lower quality wood species, branches, roots and millresidues.
2.3.2 Sawnwood
Defective logs are sawn primarily forthe local markets. Such logs when sawn, generate large
volumes of residue. Such residues are normally converted to charcoal for domestic use.
2.3.3 Wafer board
Wafers are typically large flakes e. g. loomm x 30mm x Imm or 0.5mm, may be tapered to
reduce voids and may be cut from lower cost materials, such as lower density species.
Strength properties are superior to particle board. Stability under moisture change is inferior
to that of plywood but superiorto particle board.
The wafer board is a completely new product on the Ghanaian market. It is imperative to
study the end-use of waferboard and then introduce it to the Ghanaian timber merchants.
However, it will require extensive advertising to show the people the uses of waferboard. It is
importantto study the market strategy to be adopted forthis technology. Detailed investment
cost ought to be known.
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2.3.4 Strandboard
Strand boards have similar potential applications to waferboards. The technology is not well
developed and accepted in the developed world. Ghana should not at the moment getinvolved.
2.3.5 Particleboard
A wide range of particles, chips, flakes, shavings, sawdust and various combinations of these
are used. Boards are generally for interior use and have properties inferior to plywood,waferboard and strand board. Since sawdust, shavings, flakes are abundant, this technology
should be explored. Siting of the industry should be near to an area where raw material will
not be a problem. Thus, Kumasi where most of the plymills and sawmills are located will be
an ideal place for locating such a mill. With sufficient promotion the people may adopt the
products of the technology.
Structural grades using waterproof resins (e. g. FF) have been introduced for flooring andsimilar uses. There are whole range of(interior) uses.
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2.3.6 Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF)
Composed of fibres bonded with resin, these boards have relatively high strength and goodmachining properties which make them particularly suitable forthe industry.
A wide range of fibres may be used including wood fibres and various vegetable fibres aswell as agricultural wastes. The technology is similar to but more sophisticated than that ofparticle board manufacture; the availability of cheap raw materials may increase theirsuitability for production in Ghana and other developing countries. It should target the localmarket and the subregional markets.
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2.3.7 Secondary processing
Some rejects of primary processing can be reprocessed into housing components such aswindow frames, door jambs, panels, furniture parts and other wood products. These
conversions may involve both high and low technology processes.
The lack of standardizations of housing dimensions and components makes large scale export
based production difficult and most of the products are designed to meetlocalneeds.Residues for such products must be kiln-dried, and in some cases preservative treatment is
also required for external use although many timber species have natural resistance tobiological degradation and attack.
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2.4 Problems to be encountered in wood residue utilization
Residue is not utilized in the production of products like particleboard, medium density
fibreboard, etc. because of the following problems:-
. Lack of development of domestic and regional markets
. Lack of capital for high technology processing plants
. Lack of information on appropriate plants for the resources, their planning, design,
location and integration leading to purchase of inappropriate, obsolete and poorly
located and unintegrated plants
. Lack of management and maintenance skills, made worse by urban drift in the caseof remote locations
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. Lack of standardization of productrequirements for housing
. Lack of training and knowledge of design and construction of house using timber
products
. Lack of information and techniques on preservation and protection of the timber forthese uses.
3 SIZEOFlvlARKET
3.1 Introduction:
Marketing might be defined as the process of planning and managing sales in order to marry
supply and demand to the best advantage of the manufacturing enterprise.Markets exit only where there is a demand forthe product concerned, and demand depends
upon the opportunity available for utilizing the available product. Markets can be created byadequate knowledge of the utilization possibilities of the production concerned accompaniedby promotion.
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3.2 Marketing products
The products which need to be marketed include:-Charcoal(i)
(ii) Briquette
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(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
Particle board
Medium density fibreboard
Secondary products
Waferboards
For these products to succeed in gaining the maximum benefit from the market, it is
necessary for the potential consumer to be aware that the products are available in sufficient
quantities at a guaranteed quality and at a reasonable and stable price.Since wood residue is being considered, the emphasis should not only be on processing
residue but also forest residue.
Of on at a1(1993) in ITTO Project 74190 established that for every tree that is felled in Ghana,
50% of the tree volume is left in the forest in the fomi of branchwood, crown wood and
stumps. These logging residues can however be utilized into sawn products to increase thetotal volume of the tree that is obtained per unit area of forest. Thus a lot of residue will be
sawn into lumber, which the community can access to satisfy their wood supply for uses like
housing and furniture. Sawdust will also be converted into briquettes.
3.2. I Methodology for the productswhich need to be marketted
For data collection, inforrnal discussions and structured questionnaires were used to gather
inforrnation from consumers of the products. This survey was concentrated on the
consumption as a first stage forthe products' data assessment. The supply or production datawill be collected in the near future. In carrying this out, the following steps were adopted:-
(i) Review of background material and published infonnation on the products data
(ii) Selectlocations fordatacollection
(in) Determinethe samplesize
(iv) Collate alldata gathered, analyse and presentreport.
(v) Fielddata collection
3.2.1.1 Location Isite of Data collection
Three communities were selected in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The Communities were
selected based on the standard of living of the residents. The communities were:
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. Ahodwo a suburb ofKumasiDistrictwhere most of the rich people reside.
. Ayigya, a mixed community where lower and middle income earnerslive
. Kwamo ITikrom a rural community in the Ejisu Iuaben District.
. Institutions
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3.2.1.2 Sample Sizes for the communities
In all hundred and twenty households of consumers were considered. The distribution was as
follows;
Location/ site
Ahodwo
Ayigya
Kwamo/Tikrom
In addition 25 charcoal retailers were also interviewed.
Household
40
40
40
3.2.1.3 Analysis:-
Tablel: Percentage of respondents to questionnaire in 3 communities using charcoal,
gas and firewood.
3.2.1.3. I
community
consumers
Ahodwo
Using gas
with
charcoal as
supplement
Ayigya
Tikrom/kwamo
Using gas
only
85
Percentage of respondents
7
Using
charcoal
only
10
Using
charcoal with
firewood as
supplement
5
85
91
Using charcoal
with gas as
supplement
8
5
11
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3.2.1.3.2 Retailers
In alltwenty five (25) charcoal sellers were interviewed.
Ayigya and Kwamo/Tikrom had the highest number of sellers of 10 each while Ahodwo had5 sellers. The sellers were mainly women.
3.2.1.3.3 Remarks
The price of a maxi bag of charcoal was relatively high depending on the people of the
community. Ahodwo, where there was low patronage of charcoal showed the highest price
for a maxi bag of charcoal, which was around 30,000.00-34,000.00 ($3.32-4.00).
Ayigya showed the next highest price of a maxi bag of charcoal, which was 28,000.00-
30,000 ($3.00- 3-32).
For Kwamo/Tikrom showed the lowest price of the maxi bag of charcoal, which was
24,000.00-28,000.00 ($2.56-3.00).
Charcoal prices vary greatly from one urban centre to another depending on the supplydistance, demand situation and the general cost of living.
In allthe communities it was reported that supply of charcoal was adequate and regular.
Table2: Price of maxi bag of charcoal in three communities studied (2004 )
Community
Ahodwo
Ayigya
Tikrom/Kwamo
Weight of maxibag of charcoal varies from (49-54)kg
The transport cost incurred on a bag of charcoal ranges from 1,000.00 - 5,000.00 ($ 0,125 -0,625) depending on the source of supply.
Cost price of maxibag of charcoal
Cadis (^)
30,000-34,000
28,000-30,000
24,000-28,000
Us Dollar($)
3.32-4.00
3.00-3.32
2.56-3.00
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The profit made by the sellers on a maxibag of charcoal ranges from 5,000.00 - 10,000.00
($ 0,625 - 1.25).
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Allthe people interviewed, had no knowledge of the other commercial options, such as:
. Waferboard
. Particleboard
. Mediumdensityfireboard
. Briquette
There appears to be complete lack of knowledge of briquette in anthe 3 localities. Butthey
all showed a high interest in the use of briquette on trial basis (availability, cost,
environmental friendliness).
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3.2.1.4 Institutions
The following institutions were interviewed
I. Statistical ServiceDepartment
2. Resources Management Support Centre (RMSC), Forestry Commission
3. Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD), Forestry Commission
3.2.1.4. I Statistical Services Department:
Available records indicated there was no statistics on the importation of the products
mentioned previously. Similarly there was no statistics on update of charcoal consumption in
Ghana.
Resource Management Support Centre3.2.1.4.2
Here too, there were no available records on the importation of the commercial product
mentioned previously.
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Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD)3.2.1.4.3
The TIDD when contacted stated that, it has some records with respect to export of wood
products from the country but has no infonnation in connection with the importation of the
selected products.
It was further indicated that infomiation on export of solid wood materials such as
mouldings, parquet/floorings, profile boards and broomsticks is available and could be
accessed ifnecessary..I
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3.2.1.4.4 Remarks
On the whole, in Ghana there appears to be a problem with infonmation availability and
update.
4 ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTmGWOOD RESIDUE GENERATION
AuntlTILIZATION
4.1 Introduction
Wood residue includes sawdust, shavings, trimings, slabs and edgings and bark that remain
after raw logs are harvested and processed into lumber, plywood and veneer. Wood residue
production varies with the harvest and is about 50% of the volume of logs cut. The residue
can also be used to produce energy and other products. (Crisp, 1999; Ministry of Water, Land
and Air Protection, Skeena Region). The environmental aspects of wood energy use are
diverse. They range from local land use to global climate change and from application in
smoky kitchens to electricity generation in large-scale power. Cutting wood for fuelwood and
charcoal has often been cited as a manor cause of deforestation. This idea was largely based
on the ''fuelwood gap theory" formulated in the seventies, that assumed that all woodfuels
came from forest resources and that woodfuelconsumption would increase at the same rate as
population. It ignored the substantial supply of wood from non-forest areas and responses of
woodfuels users to scarcities, such as fuel switching, changing cooking habits and developing
alternative supply sources(FAO-RWEDP).
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14
Now it is widely accepted that the me!jor cause of deforestation is the conversion of forest
land into agricultural land and urban areas, due to the increasing population and increasingdemand for food.
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Wood emits CO2 while burning or decomposing naturally, but trees absorb carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Natural decomposition also emits methane,
which does not occur when the wood is burned completely, so from an environmental point
of view burning wood residues from logging and processing is beneficial. In addition,
woodfueldoes not emit So2, unlike coaland oil(Overend, 1985), FAO-RWEDP, 2003.
Therefore, wood energy can be used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to energy
use, by replacing fossil fuels. Forthis reason, modern wood energy applications are becoming
more and more competitive with conventional applications. Other benefits of modem wood
energy are employment generation, saving on foreign eXchange due to reduced oilimport,
and the upgrading of barren and deforested areas by energy plantations.
Most woodfuels are used by households which mostly use traditional stoves. These stoves
have low efficiencies and often burn wood incompletely, leading to the emission of pollutants
such as carbon monoxide, methane and nitrogen oxides. These pollutants can have serious
health impacts and they also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. This doesn't mean that
wood is a dirty fuel and should be replaced but that traditional technologies are inadequate
and need improvements. In addition to focusing on fuel conservation, improved cookstove
programmes should also focus on aspects of health and convenience for users,
4.2 Methodology
The methodologies used included interviews from production managers of some selected
sawmills, Government officials concerned with environmental matters and desk studies
which included literature search of previous studies.
4.2. I Findings
Wood residue as Pollutants:
. Processing mills generate large quantities of wood residues which are nomially burnt
in the open airreleasing clouds of smoke into the atmosphere.
15
. When the residues are not burnt they are left at the mercy of the weather within the
environs of the mills. These undergo decay, producing bad smell within the
environment of the mills.
. Residues from mills and wood working centre close to streams are sometimes dumped
into the streams
. Residues are also used in landfill sites causing pollution of the environment
particularly during the rainy season.
. Heaps of sawdust are found in the vicinity of sawmills. Whenever there is a strong
wind, the fine particles of wood are blown into the atmosphere affecting substantially
the quality of air in the environment.
. Incineration or boilers also pollute the environment with ash, and smoke
4.2.2 Suggestions to curtailthe pollution problem.
. The project has identified that utilization of sawdust, shavings etc. to generate
electricity, will help reduce the pollution due to accumulation of the residue. Also, it
is necessary to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in the areas of charcoal, briquette
and particle board production.
. There is the need for the ministry of Environment and Science to come out with
regulation to protect human health from the effects of boilers or incinerator smoke.
. Landfills is not an acceptable alternative to incineration because landfills produced
16achates that harm aquatic systems
. The Government should help producers of wood residue to develop new facilities to
generate energy from wood.
. The feasibility of generating electricity from wood residue depends on the price of
wood residue, the costs and benefits of energy production and the existing
environmental and energy policies.
. There is also the need to maximize the pollution - prevention capacity of boiler
operations
. There must be a capacity to divert wood residue to allow the boiler to shutdown for up
to five consecutive normal production days for air-quality management purposes in
response to air quality conditions.
16
. Mills must be encouraged to separate the various wood residue types as much as is
practical. This is to facilitate better utilization of wood in value-added applications. There must be the desire to see wood residue put to value- added use, particularly
cogeneration.
. There is a need for stricter environmental regulation to create a marketin which wood
residue will be positively priced. This is so because there is a substantial surplus of
wood residue and current disposal methods are cheap.
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5 SOCIAL FACTORS INFLl. I^NCmG Tan UTILIZATION OF THE WOOD
RESIDUE
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5.1 Gender and Health
Such social aspects as gender and health are strongly related to the utilization of wood
residue especially with the traditional use of fuelwood and charcoal in the rural areas of
developing countries.
The collection of fuelwood, charcoal and other wood products for household consumption
usually is a task for women and children, and since the sawmills are most often located far
from the people, collection of the residue becomes a burden for the women and that theyresort to the use of most easily obtained fuel.
The direct burning of sawdust and other wood residues as fuel in poor-quality cooking stoves
can result in incomplete combustion emitting pollutants such as carbon monoxide, methane
and particulates in the Kitchen.
Since women are responsible for cooking and for that matter spending many hours in the
kitchen they are more exposed to these pollutantsthen men.
In addition, the daily hauling of the wood residue imposes a huge physical strain on the
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women.
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5.2 Education 11nformatiom
Saw millers and the public in general do not have fair knowledge about the wood they
process and the residues generated in the cause of the production. Little is known abouttheamount of residue generated by the mills and how much can be used and has been used for
various products.
In the wood industries, since their aim is to produce lumber for export antheir emphasis is
solely on the production of the lumber. But apart from the production of the lumber the
residue so generated can be used in the production of other things like particle board.
It can also be used in the generation of energy which is done in the form of steam, which can
be used by the mills for some of their energy needs.
Therefore the wood industries and the general public need to be educated on the use of some
of these residues and their products.
^--
5.3 Location of the Wood Industries
The wood industries are scattered and most far removed from residential areas. This makes
the use of the residue generated unattractive, since one has to walk long distances before
they getto the mills. Sometimes they use vehicles which make it more expensive even thoughthe residue itselfis for free.
Due to the scattered nature of the mills or industries people are not even aware of the type of
residue generated and the operations of the industries.
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5.4 Income Level
In most developing countries, like Ghana, the usage of wood residue for products like
charcoal, sawdust stove and the others are associated with people of low income.
Therefore as the income levels of the people increase the utilization of the residue for energy
decreases.
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6 CONCLUSION
Wood energy has the potential to supply a significant proportion of the energy needs of
Ghana and other developing countries. The energy from wood would be in the form of
woodfuel, that is, charcoal, briquette and fuelwood. Small scale enterprises should be
encouraged to accept briquette as a source of energy fortheir operations because it gives off
little or no smoke and provides low energy cost. The people should be encouraged to use
briquette and charcoal instead of fuelwood which is nounally harvested without concern for
sustainable forest management. Since charcoal consumption is growing in both urban and
rural areas, it is necessary to adopt an efficient production technique for its manufacture. It is
therefore important for the government to put in place suitable policy to favour the
production and efficient utilization of charcoal and briquette.
Processing mills should be encouraged to adopt new technologies for conversion of wood
residue into other useful products such as flooring parquet, flooring strips, triangular
mouldings, particle board, medium density fibreboard and briquette. They should be
encouraged to adopt cogeneration which is a simultaneous production of heat and electricity
from a primary source to wood residues.
Efficient stoves to convert woodfuels to energy for domestic use should be developed to
reduce the pollution caused by incomplete combustion and its resultant health problems to
women and children who normally handle these in kitchen.
There is a need for stricter environmental regulation to create a market in which wood residue
will be positively priced. This is so because there is a substantial surplus of wood residue and
current disposal methods are cheap.
Proper use of wood residue will create employment forthe rural and pen-urban dwellers.
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7 RECOMMENDATION
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Suggested areas where further work could usefulIy focus include:. Studies to assess the social, economic and environmental implications of traditional
uses of woodfuels.
. Studies to assess the use of wood fuels in the smallscale enterprise and other large
scale industrial/ commercial uses.
. Assessment of the impact of charcoal production and fuel wood utilization on the
forest.
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.. Pilot studies in relation to briquette production and use to :
o Assess marketacceptance and develop the market
o Assess marketing and distribution issues
o Carry out financial and economic analysis
o To determineprofitability
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8 BIBLIOGRAPHY:
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Crisp Andrew. 1999( wood residue as an energy source forthe forest products industry
ANU Forestry . 1999. thttp: 11sres. anu. edu. au/ associated Ifpt/ nwfp Iwoodres/
woodres. him1.1
I.
Cosgrove -Davies Mac: Understanding Briquetting . Volunteers in Technical Assistance
(VITA). Technical paper No. 31 1985 @ imp: lidh. vita. org/ pubs/docs Iurbrool. html
Earl. D. E "Charcoal-An Andr6 Mayer Fellowship Report" FAO, Rome ,1974.
Energy Commission-Renewable EnergyDivision "Wood Fueluse in Ghana: An outlook forthe future" Ministry, ACcra , Ghana 2002
FAO:
FAO:
Economic Analysis of Wood Energy systems, Rome , 61P , 2002.
Data Base @ WWW. fao. org.
Wood Energy andEnvironment; RWEDP Home Publications
Newsletters, wood energy issues @ http://WWW. Rwedp. org/i-
environment. html.
FAO-RWEDP:
Geoffrey PIGydell:
HaganBenE:
The Tropical Timbers Of Ghana ;Timber ExportDevelopmentBoard,Takoradi, Ghana 1994.
Nketia K. S , Hagan E. B and Addo S. T:
Forecasting Wood fuels Demand in Ghana the process model
approach, BERl, KumasiGhana 1988.
Nketia K. S: Feasibility Report on the production, marketing and use of sawdust
Briquette. FomG . Kumasi, Ghana 1980.
The Charcoal cycle in Ghana - a baseline study .
U. N. D. PINationalEnergy Board . Ghana. 1988
21
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Overend R:
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Solberg B. (ed):
Biomass gasification :the enabling technology . Renewable Energy
I.
world . James & James . 2000 @ http://WWW. 'x'. coin/msand'/rew/2000-051biomass- asification. html
Ministry Of Water, Land andAirProtection , SkeenaRegion: Airquality-particulate
matter. http://WWW. ov. bc. calske/sekeanr/ in-case. html.
Long Trends and Prospects for wood and implications for sustainable
Forest Management, European Forest Institute Research , Report 6,
Joensuu, Finland , 1996, 150p.
,-
FAO:
World Forest inShanna .N, Rowe. R , OpenshawankK . andJacobson . N :
Perspective .In N. Sharma [Ed] Managing The World's Forests.
Keridal Hunt Publishing , Dubuque , lowa , pp 17-31, 1992 .
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Forest statistics Today for Tommorow , 1945-1993; 2010 Rome, 1995.
Apsey. MandREED. L:
Nilsson . S. :
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World Timber Resources outlook, current perceptions: a
discussion paper Council of Forest Industries , Vancouver, BC.
Canada . 206p 1995
Trossero M. A, Hota-Nogueira L. A, EtheringtonT . I: Wood Energy Situation and
Trends . A Paper prepared forthe World Energy Council'sstudy on
Energy in Developing Countries, Forest Department, FAO, Rome
,Italy , 30p ,1988.
Do we have enough forest? International Institute for Applied
systems Analysis .Laxenburg , Austria ,71p ,1996.
Fuelwood the energyECkholm .E. , Foley. G ., Barnard .G. and Timberlake L:
crisisthat won't go away. Earthscan, London. 107p 1984.
22
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Of on. I, Of OSU Asiedu .A. and AdamsA. R. : Better Utilization of Tropical Timber
and Resources in order to improve sustainability and reduce negative
ecological inputs . Trio Project PD 74190 Forestry Research
Institute of Ghana ( FORIG) and Federal Centre of Forestry and Forest
Products in Hamburg, Gennany , 1993.
Resch, D. 0 :
r~ Satoriaka S:
Densified Wood and Bark Fuels, In : Smith, R. W. (ed) Energy from
Forest Biomass, XVll IUFRO World Congress Energy Group
Proceedings . Academic Press. New York PP 109 -128 , 1982.
Carbonization and Gasification of Wood , In: Smith , R. W (ed)
Energy from Forest Biomass, XVlllUFRO World Congress Energy
Group Proceedings , Academic Press , New York , ( p 155-170).
23
Project Technical and Scientific staffs:
Project Coordinator :
DrDanielSekyere, FORIG, Box 63 ,KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana
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Email:dsek ere fori. or
Dr. P. Y. Okyere:
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, KNUST, Kumasi,Ghana.
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Dr. N. A. Darkwah .
Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, KNUST , Kumasi, Ghana.
Mr. K. S. Nketiah
Up 982, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana.
Email: ksnketiah ahoo. coin
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APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAER. E
Whattype of wood residue do you dealin?
(a) Charcoal(b) Briquette(c) Others
What quantity of the product are you able to sell daily/weekly
(a) Below 5 bags/pieces/board(by 5 - 10(c) Above 10
Howmuch do you buy abag of charcoal/briquette
(a) Below ^30,000(by ^30,000(c) Above ^30,000
How much transport cost do you incur on abag?
(a) ^2,000(b) ^2,000 - 5,000(c) Above ^5,000
Where do you getyoursupply from?
(a) Charcoal burners(b) Wholes6116rs(c) Others
How much profit are you able to make on each bag:
(a) Below ^5,000(by ^5,000 - ^10,000(c) Above ^10,000
Do you know of any other wood residue apart from charcoal?
(a) Waferboard(b) Particle density(c) Medium density(d) Briquette
Ifyes - what are its uses?
How often do you getyoursupply?
I.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6
7.
8.
9.
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