WOOD: A THIRD OF THE WORLD’S SURFACE

From prehistoric to modern times, wood has been an essential part of civilizations; valued for its versatility for millennia. With the world covered by about 4,000 million hectares of forest; about a third of its total area, wood is a significant bulk material, and Bruks Siwertell has been specializing in its handling and processing for over a century.

We supply complete technology chains for many wood-processing industries. From the forest to the sawmill, and beyond into the pulp and paper, panelboard, pellet, biofuel and bioenergy industries, our technology is relied upon throughout the world across hundreds of installations.

Our strong portfolio for the wood biofiber market, with chippers, and bark and processed wood handling systems, along with storage and reclaiming solutions and conveyors, also includes hammer mills for both wet and dry wood materials, as well as butt-flare reducers and knife-ring flakers.

AN ENVIRONMENTAL LIFELINE

Wood is the only construction material that has the ability to store carbon, and interest in it as a thermal power fuel has increased globally as generators look to switch to renewable energy sources. Wood can be used in boilers as wood chips or pellets, making particularly good use of wood residues.

Sustainability is critical; for wood to be a renewable resource it must be sourced from wellmanaged forestry stock. We work with stakeholders that pride themselves on delivering and driving environmental sustainability within the processed wood sector.

SAWMILLS: PRODUCING MORE THAN JUST STRAIGHT CUTS

Modern sawmills have diversified. They now not only cut with digital accuracy, but also make even better use of the timber that enters their production lines; nothing is wasted.

From the outset, our technology ensures that wood is in an ideal condition to enter the sawline. Bruks butt-flare reducers are capable of machining down the flared butt of a log, ensuring its uniformity and leaving the log in perfect condition for onward processing.

Once entering the sawline, our by-product processing and handling technology can take cutting residues from beneath the sawline, forming a subfloor and maximizing wood use, converting residues into value-added by-products and consigning dusty mills to the past.

Offcuts, wood and pin chips, and even sawdust, are collected, conveyed, screened, processed and stored so that they can be used in a variety of other production processes. For example, wood chips can be used for pulping, or a power source or processed into particle or panelboards, while sawdust can be compressed into wood pellets, again for energy and heat generation.

WOOD CHIPS WITH A DIFFERENCE

Characteristics of wood chips depend on two main factors, the chipper and where the wood material comes from. Forestry-sourced wood chips are derived from logging residues, such as branches, stem wood logs, whole trees, and stumps, but also from recycled wood, sawmill residues and short-rotation forestry crops, such as coppiced trees.

Our range of stationary and mobile chipping technology is designed to chip wood to the specifications of its targeted industry, whether that is the renewable energy market, the pulp and paper industry or numerous other key applications.

EFFICIENT FLOWS OF WOOD CHIPS

Bruks Siwertell has a unique truck unloading portfolio that delivers high-performance, and reliability to receiving facilities. Bulk trucks distribute the huge volumes of processed wood required by the bioenergy and biofuel market and also by the pulp, paper and particle board industries.

Our range can efficiently accommodate end-dumping and self-unloading trucks. Both the backon and a drive-over truck dump systems offer excellent cycle times, supporting operations where a receiving facility can process hundreds of trucks a day. They are also well paired with our Bruks receiving hopper.

VALUE-ADDED WOOD

Our wood residue systems have been specifically designed for handling difficult wood products, including recycled wood. Our systems ensure that wood, in whatever form, is a source of value.

Bruks Rotom hammer hogs, both drop and horizontal fed units, feature a two-step sizereduction process and are fitted with a unique combination of swinging and fixed hammers. Their extremely powerful action makes them the ideal choice for shredding bark, recycling waste wood and other waste timber products.

SCREENING WITH EFFICIENCY

Bruks Siwertell has a wide range of screens including vibratory, gyratory, and disc scalping. Developed over decades, they ensure a consistent size and quality in end products, and remove fines and/or over-sized fractions from the wood chip supply chain, making onward processing more efficient.

WOODYARDS: SO MUCH MORE THAN A PILE OF CHIPS

At first glance, the critical role that woodyards play in the efficiency and successful operations of pellet plants, pulp and paper mills, and biomass-powered energy facilities may not be immediately obvious, but they are substantially more than a simple pile of wood chips or hogged fuel waiting for use.

The vastness of some woodpiles indicates the huge volumes of biomass needed to keep these industries in business. Factor-in the many challenges of storing, handling and reclaiming this material, and you can begin to see why woodyard design, state-of-the-art technology and effective maintenance regimes are so important.

Varying moisture contents and differences in densities, fiber properties and calorific values are just some of the challenges. Most forms of biomass are also very dusty and prone to catch fire or in fact self-ignite, and will also freeze.

Original article by Bruks Siwertell