FDM ASIA
Editorial
www.fdmasia.com
Solid Wood & Panel Technology Celebrating
The
of
years
Published by:
EASTERN TRADE MEDIA PTE LTD
(a fully owned subsidiary of Eastern Holdings Ltd)
Laws Nature Nature has a wonderful way of harnessing its resources. Keeping in mind that energy can never be destroyed but transformed from one form to another. Nowhere is this more evident than in the woodworking and furniture industry. Wood is a wonderful resource to work with from an ecological point of view being a renewable energy source that can be sustainably managed. The sustainable use of wood as an energy source depends a lot on a healthy respect and understanding of wood life and value chain throughout the manufacturing process and its impact on the carbon cycle. Studies have been made on the energy saving performance of modern woodworking plants in Southeast Asia, in areas such as chip and dust extraction and filtration systems as well as wood waste recycling systems. The process energy needed for drying and heating in sawmills and wood-based panel plants are often generated by wood-residues which are unsuitable for the manufacturing of products. Important energy savings can also be gained from modern heating and CHP (combined heat and power generation) installations which generate the major part of the energy required for industrial processes from woody biomass unsuitable for recycling. Energy can be saved through continuously improving recycling rates of wood and wood products. Modern dust filtration systems in woodworking plants are modularly designed to give mill owners the flexibility to change the layout of their machinery according to idealised production workflows and add new machines with minimal alteration to ducting. The filter systems use a motorised chain conveyor and rotary valve system to remove heavy particles from the air, leaving light air-borne dust which is retained in the main air stream flow to be filtered by high efficiency fans allowing maximum energy savings to be realised. Even more energy can be saved with the automatic regulation of fan speeds by programmed inverter control, according to the changes in air volume requirements as machines are added or removed. These are just some ways in which energy can be saved in the woodworking industry. In this issue, we look at the trends in energy utilisation in Southeast Asia and the latest developments in dust extraction and filtration systems.
Registration No: 199908196C
managing director Kenneth Tan assistant editor Goh Tz'en Long tzenlong@epl.com.sg
editorial assistant Justine Neo justineneo@epl.com.sg
art director Phyllis Ng advertising sales manager Vivian Lee vivianlee@epl.com.sg
advertising sales manager Connie Nie connienie@epl.com.sg
circulation executive Foo Boon How boonhow@epl.com.sg
contributors Dr Jegatheswaran Ratnasingam Marcus Syn Augustine Quek Joseph Chia industry consultants Michael Ginnings Consultant, Ginnings Far East Associates
Ong Kim Chuan Managing Director Haleywood Director
Winston Chiu President Technik Associates Inc
EASTERN HOLDINGS LTD EXECUTIVE BOARD chairman Stephen Tay executive director Kenneth Tan
Goh Tz'en Long
financial controller Robbin Lim
etm
Eastern
Trade Media Pte Ltd an Eastern Holdings Ltd company
Head Office & Mailing Address: Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd 1100 Lower Delta Road, EPL Building #04-02, Singapore 169206 Tel: (65) 6379-2888 • Fax: (65) 6379-2805
6 FDM ASIA JULY 2006
China Office: #1504 Dong Xing Mansion No.78 Zhe Jiang Road (South) Tel: 86 21 6311 3676 • Fax: 86 21 6311 2960 email: connienie@epl.com.sg