A review of the resource efficiency and mechanical performance of commercial wood-based building materials

With growing advocacy for structural wood-based materials in urban construction, the pressure on a sustainable supply of round wood will significantly increase over the next decades. To prevent severe material shortages, the available raw material needs to be processed as efficiently as possible. To do so, in-depth knowledge about the process efficiencies of first round wood breakdown and final material yields of established engineered wood products is needed. Therefore, this review gives insight into the process efficiency of the three dominating primary disintegration processes sawmilling, veneer peeling and log stranding as well as the material yield of subsequently produced structural engineered wood products. Furthermore, the resulting mechanical performance of the various materials is presented and a so-called “mechanical efficiency” is introduced, which combines material yield with mechanical performance. Based on the reviewed literature it can be concluded that a resource efficient combination of processes will be required in order to satisfy the increasing demand for wood-based building materials. Especially the use of veneer- and strand-based products should be intensified as they offer improved mechanical efficiency.