o n t Processing and use Coconut wood Processing and use The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion vvhatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. M-32 ISBN 92-5-102253-4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or other_ise, _Ithout the prior permission of the copyright o_ner. Applications for such permission, vvith a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy. © FAO 1985 1 COCONUT WOOD Processing and Use Index Chapter 1 THE TREE 5 Chapter S GRADING COCONUT TIMBER 31 Properties, Utilization and Availability Quality Control, particularly relating to export The Copra Industry System of Identification Effect of Stem Anatomy and Structure on Utilization Grading Sawing Sample Specifications Seasoning Grading Techniques Natural Durability and Wood Preservation Grading by Basic Density Transmission Poles Appearance Pulp and Paper Wood Fuel Chapter 6 SEASONING COCONUT TIMBER 3S Availability of Resource Resource Assessment by Estimation - South Pacific Air Drying Resource Assessment by Survey - Tonga Kiln Drying Resource Assessment by Inventory - Fiji Seasoning of Poles Chapter 2 THE USES OF COCONUT WOOD 12 Chapter 7 PRESERVING COCONUT TIMBER 37 Construction Oil- and Water-based Preservative Techniques Furniture Preparing Timber prior to Treatment Utility Items and Curios Treatment Methods Board Products Roundwood Products Chapter 8 ENERGY FROM RESIDUES 41 Fuel and Energy Coconut Stems as Fuel Chapter 3 LOGGING 20 Charcoal Making Charcoal Retorts Selection and Felling Charcoal Briquetting Cross-cutting Activated Carbon Extraction Producer Gas - Gasifier Transport Ethanol from Coconut Waste Products Disposal of Debris Power Generation Systems Establishment and Operation of Power Systems Chapter 4 PRIMARY CONVERSION 24 Cutting Patterns Sawmill Systems for Coconut Timber Footnotes 4S Types of Mill used for Sawing Logs Sawing with a Chainsaw and Guide Attachments Sawblades for Coconut Stem Conversion Bibliography 47 Waste Disposal 1 COCONUT WOOD Processing and Use List of lUustrations Frontispiece: Three Densities of Coconut Wood CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 4 I A The Tree of Life 4A The Tungsten Carbide Tipped Saw IB Coconuts Figure 4.1 Cutting Pattern for Centre-held Log 1C The Young Tongan System 10 The Young Tongan Drinks from the Coconut Figure 4.2 Cutting Pattern for Conventional IE Copra Cutting, a Traditional Source of Income Sawmills IF Coconut Logs, Dense on the Outside, Soft Inside Figure 4.3 Cutting Pattern for Beams 1G Firewood from Coconut Logs Figure 4.4 Additional Pattern for Cutting Purloins Figure 1.1 Diagrammatic Section through a Coconut Figure 4.5 Cutting Pattern Relative to Selection and Stem Grading CHAPTER 1 2A Coconut Wood House CHAPTER 5 2B Frame of Building 2C Cocowood in Water Contact 5A The Low-density Grade Collapses 20 Shingles 5B The Densest Grades are Strong Enough for Struc­ 2E Feature Wall of Cocowood tural Uses 2F Wall Cladding Figure 5.1 Chainsaw Grading Marks on Logs 2G Block Flooring Figure 5.2 Colour Grading on Log Butt 2H Strip Flooring 21 Cocowood Folding Table 2J Cocowood Chair 2K Cocowood Desk 2L Walking Stick CHAPTER 6 2M Bow and Arrow 2N Hammer Handles 6A Correctly Stacked for Air Drying 20 Eggcup 2P Sliced Veneer 2Q Laminated Cocowood 2R Particle Board 2S Power and Utility Poles CHAPTER 7 2T A Slice of Cocowood from Bark to Bark roughly sanded 7A Debarking Poles CHAPTER 3· CHAPTER 8 3A Tractors Used for Extraction can also Power Small sawmills 8A Zamboanga Research Centre Charcoal Kiln 3B Log extracted by Draught Animals Exterior Figure 3.1 Cutting by Draught Animal 8B Zamboanga Research Centre Charcoal Kiln Figure 3.2 Bulldozing through Roots Interior Figure 3.3 Skidding Log behind Tractor 8C Firewood 3 COCONUT WOOD Processing and Use INTRODUCTION Coconut Wood - Processing and Use is an in­ Forest Research Institute, New Zealand; Messrs. R. troduction to methods currently in use for the utiliza­ Ford, J. Turner, and J. Vaney, New Zealand Forest tion of coconut stems for wood products and fuel. Service, Rotorua; Mr. N. Evans, Fe'ofa'aki Enter­ The stems of the coconut trees become available prises, Tonga; Mr. R. Evans and Mr. A. Afeaki, for use when the tree ceases to yield coconuts as a Cocostem Development Co. Ltd., New Zealand and result of old age, disease or hurricane damage. Tonga; and Mt K. Bergseng, Timber Training Cen­ tre, Rotorua. Coconut Wood - Processing and Use has been pro­ duced for the information of those interested in the Other individuals were consulted and assessments development of processing industries. were made of a number of coconut stem processing The information contained in this book represents operations in selecting material to be included. the most recent findings of institutions and in­ Documents from which material has been drawn dividuals researchin~ the fuller use of superfluous are cited in the bibliography. coconut stems. The economics and management of coconut wood The editors and the Food and Agriculture industries, and the organized marketing of their pro­ Organization wish to acknowledge the assistance ducts, will need increasing attention as the industries given by the specialists, primarily those named expand. above, who co-operated in the compilation of the report and from whose publications valuable infor­ Sources of Information for mation was collected. Coconut Wood - Processing and Use were: The editors Mr. V. K. Sulc, Mr. Rodrigo Juson and col­ leagues, Zamboanga Research Centre, Philippines; Anthony Haas Mr. R. N. Palomar and Mr. A. Mosteiro, Forpride, Len Wilson Philippines; Dr. A. McQuire and J. Klnninmonth, 5 Chapter 1 The Coconut Tree The coconut palm, Cocos nucijera L., is one of the most important crops of the tropics. It occurs in all tropical and most subtropical regions, most abundantly in Asia and the Pacific, thriving best on low-lying sites close to the sea with ground water and ample rainfall. Nuts are produced from when trees are aged five, with highest production achieved between 15 and SO years. Productivity declines steadily thereafter until at 60 to 70 years the tree is considered to be senile. It is then, or when hurricanes or disease strike, that the mature coconut trees are suited for conver­ sion to coconut wood. 6 Properties, Availability and Utilization The coconut palm. Cocos nucifera L., is one of the most important crops of the tropics. It occurs in all tropical and most subtropical regions. most abun­ dantly in Asia and the Pacific, thriving best on low-lying sites close to the sea with ground water and ample rainfall. Nuts are produced from when trees are aged five. with highest production achieved bet­ ween 15 and 50 years. Productivity declines steadily thereafter until at 60 to 70 years the tree is considered to be senile. Few plants are as versatile as the coconut. The most important product is the flesh of the nut (the solid endosperm) which. dried as copra. is the source of coconut oil used in the manufacture of soaps and detergents, edible oils and fats. oilcake. plasticisers and other industrial products. Worldwide copra pro­ duction amounted to over 4.9 million metric tons in 1982. and in the same year trade in coconut oil was I A The Tree of Life 1.27 million metric tons with a value of about $US657 million. Local uses of coconut palm products are many: mes were drawn up accordingly. It thus happened coir, from the husk of the nut. is a fibre used in the that, for the first time in the history of the' copra in­ manufacture of mats. ropes. brushes and baskets; the dustry. plantation owners were faced with t he pro­ hard endocarp provides charcoal; coconut milk (the blem of cutting, extracting and disposing of over­ liquid endosperm) is used in cooking and as a mature trees. beverage; sap. obtained by tapping the inflorescence Not only did this involve a reversal of the tradi­ of the palm, is a source of sugar. alcohol and tional conservationist attitude to coconuts. but it also vinegar; the leaves provide thatch and material for required the development of economic means of basket weaving; the stem is used for house construc­ disposal or utilization. Stems could not be left to rot tion and increasingly for other purposes to be as the decaying wood provides a breeding ground for described in the succeeding chapters. 18 Coconuts The Copra Industry The origins of the industry may be traced back to 1841 when a patent was issued for the manufacture of soap from coconut oil. During the subsequent decades copra was harvested. mainly from trees growing wild. by traders supplying the large soap-making firms. Later. in the early 1900s. de­ mand for coconut oil for butter substitutes stimulated the establishment of plantations. In view of the favourable investment climate at the time, much of the planting was on large estates. especially in the Philippines, but in addition many small farmers planted the coconut as a cash crop which remains to this day an important part of the economies of some island countries. After 1918 other crops. particularly rubber, ap­ peared to offer better opportunities for investment and large-scale coconut planting diminished. then virtually ceased with the economic depression of the I 930s. The vast stock of trees created during the planting boom continued to produce in abundance, but wild fluctuations in the price of copra, as well as the grow­ ing acceptability of alternative vegetable oils.