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Forests
Special Issues
Properties and Uses of Value-Added Wood-Based Products and Composites
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Properties and Uses of Value-Added Wood-Based Products and Composites

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Wood Science and Forest Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2025 | Viewed by 1788

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Francesco Negro

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Guest Editor
DISAFA-Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, University of Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini, 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Interests: development and innovation; physico-mechanical characterization; sustainability; wood-based products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Roberto Zanuttini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
DISAFA-Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, University of Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini, 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Interests: physico-mechanical characterization; standards and normative; structural timber; wood-based products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Adding value to wood-based products and composites is beneficial on several levels, as they generally offer improved performance, higher profitability, and lower environmental impact compared to alternative non-wood products. Indeed, technological and scientific advances in recent decades have enabled the manufacturing of new and high-performing wood-based products and composites. They are appreciated for the most different properties: lightness, mechanical performance, thermal or acoustic insulation, improved durability, decorative aspects, etc. Such technological advances have opened their use to new fields of application, and the ever-increasing need for sustainable materials and products has further supported their expansion.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect cutting-edge research focused on value-added wood-based products and composites. To this purpose, we encourage the submission of contributions focused on the ways to add value to them, on their properties and characterization, and on their applications. As an indication, examples of sought-after articles include those dealing with the valorization of low-grade raw wood material, the innovation of manufacturing processes, the addition of specific properties, and the development of new wood-based products and composites.

Prof. Dr. Francesco Negro
Prof. Dr. Roberto Zanuttini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

characterization
development and innovation
solid wood and structural timber
value added
valorization
wood processing
wood composites
wood-based products

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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18 pages, 2786 KB  
Article
Performance of Oriented Strand Boards Made with Jack Pine Strands Produced by an Innovative Strander-Canter
by Rosilei Garcia, Alain Cloutier, Irsan Alipraja, Roger E. Hernández and Ahmed Koubaa
Forests 2025, 16(8), 1227; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16081227 - 25 Jul 2025
Viewed by 394
Abstract
Canadian sawmills commonly use chipper-canters to process softwood logs into squared lumber and wood chips for pulp mills. However, the declining demand for newsprint and print paper has led to an oversupply of wood chips, resulting in economic losses and environmental concerns. To [...] Read more.
Canadian sawmills commonly use chipper-canters to process softwood logs into squared lumber and wood chips for pulp mills. However, the declining demand for newsprint and print paper has led to an oversupply of wood chips, resulting in economic losses and environmental concerns. To address this issue, a strander-canter capable of producing both softwood cants and strands for oriented strand board (OSB) presents a promising alternative. This study evaluates the feasibility of using jack pine strands generated by a novel strander-canter equipped with a cutterhead for OSB strand production. Strands were generated from frozen and unfrozen logs under varying cutting parameters and incorporated in the core layer of the panels. Industrial aspen strands were used for the surface layers. OSB panels were assessed for mechanical and physical properties following the CSA O325:21 standard. Strand size distribution and vertical density profiles were also analyzed. The results indicated that panels made from jack pine strands demonstrated bending and internal bond properties that were either comparable to or superior to those of the control panels. However, including jack pine strands in the core layer increased the thickness swelling of the panels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties and Uses of Value-Added Wood-Based Products and Composites)
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Other

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27 pages, 2937 KB  
Systematic Review
Adding Value to Wood-Based Products: A Systematic Literature Review on Drivers
by Silvana Calvano, Francesco Negro, Simone Blanc, Stefano Bruzzese, Filippo Brun and Roberto Zanuttini
Forests 2025, 16(4), 590; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16040590 - 28 Mar 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1127
Abstract
The term “added value” is frequently used by stakeholders in the forest wood sector. However, beyond its intuitive meaning, what does “added value” mean in economics, and what are the main ways of adding value to wood-based products? To answer these questions, a [...] Read more.
The term “added value” is frequently used by stakeholders in the forest wood sector. However, beyond its intuitive meaning, what does “added value” mean in economics, and what are the main ways of adding value to wood-based products? To answer these questions, a theoretical framework of the concept of “added value” and an overview of its main applications within wood supply chains are provided. Subsequently, the results of a systematic literature review are reported. A total of 1974 primary research articles published in English in the last decade were collected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The main objectives were to understand how the “added value” concept is addressed, determine which wood-based products are studied, identify how value is added, and ascertain the main consequences. The analysis of the 111 selected articles showed that the term “added value” is often used as a label rather than a clearly defined concept. Improved production processes and the valorisation of raw materials were found to be the main methods of adding value to wood-based products, while environmental benefits emerged as the most frequent objective. The findings may serve several purposes, such as identifying research needs, guiding industrial innovation, and informing policy makers, helping to implement measures that really benefit wood supply chains. Building on this study, future research could explore how added value is perceived and implemented by forest enterprises, wood industries, policymakers, and other stakeholders. This would provide a broader reference framework for applying the concept of added value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties and Uses of Value-Added Wood-Based Products and Composites)
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