Investigation of Sawmill Management and Technology on Waste Reduction at Selected Sawmills in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka

The demand for sawn timber and wood-based products is rising steadily with new developments and the growing domestic consumption in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is important to strike a balance between the increasing demand and consumption of forest resources. Thus, the key objective of this study was t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: H.T.S. Caldera, H.S. Amarasekera
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Sri Jayewardenepura 2015-09-01
Series:Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment
Online Access:http://journals.sjp.ac.lk/index.php/JTFE/article/view/2499
id doaj-1c58c39366d44ed0a1669fbab14b37bc
record_format Article
spelling doaj-1c58c39366d44ed0a1669fbab14b37bc2020-11-24T22:42:48ZengUniversity of Sri JayewardenepuraJournal of Tropical Forestry and Environment2235-93702235-93622015-09-01512272Investigation of Sawmill Management and Technology on Waste Reduction at Selected Sawmills in Moratuwa, Sri LankaH.T.S. CalderaH.S. AmarasekeraThe demand for sawn timber and wood-based products is rising steadily with new developments and the growing domestic consumption in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is important to strike a balance between the increasing demand and consumption of forest resources. Thus, the key objective of this study was to investigate the effects of sawmill management and technological parameters on loss in conversion from logs to sawn timber and to compare the sawmill efficiency in private sawmills with the state timber corporation sawmill.<br />Sawmill management and technological parameters were studied in 21 private sawmills and State Timber Corporation sawmill in Kaldemulla to evaluate the effects on loss in conversion. The selected sawmills represent all types available in Sri Lanka, i.e., frame saw, circular saw and band saw mills. Based on the results, mean percentage loss in conversion of teak and mahogany timber for all sawmills (private and State Timber Corporation) in Moratuwa found to be 53.10%. Significant differences were observed in loss in conversion values between the three categories of private sawmills as well as within sawmills of the same category. It was shown that loss in conversion values also varied with sawmill management and technological parameters such as type of machinery employed, sharpening frequency and sawyer’s experience, saw setting, availability of log alignment equipment and saw guards, oversizing and sawn timber sizes.http://journals.sjp.ac.lk/index.php/JTFE/article/view/2499
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author H.T.S. Caldera
H.S. Amarasekera
spellingShingle H.T.S. Caldera
H.S. Amarasekera
Investigation of Sawmill Management and Technology on Waste Reduction at Selected Sawmills in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment
author_facet H.T.S. Caldera
H.S. Amarasekera
author_sort H.T.S. Caldera
title Investigation of Sawmill Management and Technology on Waste Reduction at Selected Sawmills in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
title_short Investigation of Sawmill Management and Technology on Waste Reduction at Selected Sawmills in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
title_full Investigation of Sawmill Management and Technology on Waste Reduction at Selected Sawmills in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
title_fullStr Investigation of Sawmill Management and Technology on Waste Reduction at Selected Sawmills in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
title_full_unstemmed Investigation of Sawmill Management and Technology on Waste Reduction at Selected Sawmills in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
title_sort investigation of sawmill management and technology on waste reduction at selected sawmills in moratuwa, sri lanka
publisher University of Sri Jayewardenepura
series Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment
issn 2235-9370
2235-9362
publishDate 2015-09-01
description The demand for sawn timber and wood-based products is rising steadily with new developments and the growing domestic consumption in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is important to strike a balance between the increasing demand and consumption of forest resources. Thus, the key objective of this study was to investigate the effects of sawmill management and technological parameters on loss in conversion from logs to sawn timber and to compare the sawmill efficiency in private sawmills with the state timber corporation sawmill.<br />Sawmill management and technological parameters were studied in 21 private sawmills and State Timber Corporation sawmill in Kaldemulla to evaluate the effects on loss in conversion. The selected sawmills represent all types available in Sri Lanka, i.e., frame saw, circular saw and band saw mills. Based on the results, mean percentage loss in conversion of teak and mahogany timber for all sawmills (private and State Timber Corporation) in Moratuwa found to be 53.10%. Significant differences were observed in loss in conversion values between the three categories of private sawmills as well as within sawmills of the same category. It was shown that loss in conversion values also varied with sawmill management and technological parameters such as type of machinery employed, sharpening frequency and sawyer’s experience, saw setting, availability of log alignment equipment and saw guards, oversizing and sawn timber sizes.
url http://journals.sjp.ac.lk/index.php/JTFE/article/view/2499
work_keys_str_mv AT htscaldera investigationofsawmillmanagementandtechnologyonwastereductionatselectedsawmillsinmoratuwasrilanka
AT hsamarasekera investigationofsawmillmanagementandtechnologyonwastereductionatselectedsawmillsinmoratuwasrilanka
_version_ 1725698257541136384