Granulometric characterization of Arctic driftwood sawdust from frame sawing process.

Arctic driftwood can be used as an alternative source of wood as construction timber and furniture material, especially in Iceland and Greenland. The use of Arctic driftwood can help in the fight against climate change, by developing land reforestation processes and reducing the volume harvested wood from forests and sustainability of harvesting processes. In this paper the results of an analysis of the effect of long-term residence of pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and larch wood (Larix sibirica L.) stay in Arctic ice and seawater on the granulation of wood sawdust and the distribution of fine wood dust particles during the frame sawing process are presented. The distribution of wood chips and dust was analysed using sieve and laser diffraction methods. The results confirmed that Arctic driftwood, compared to normal wood for both analysed species, generate slightly more fine wood dust particles during the frame sawing process, which can be harmful to human health. However, these differences are not significant, indicating that the same dust extraction systems can be used for both sawing processes. • The particle size of larch driftwood dust is similar that of normal larch wood. • Increasing the feed per tooth increases the proportion of smaller particles. • The distribution of fine dust particles (<20 μm) is stronger in pine driftwood. • In the process of sawing driftwood, more the finest sawdust fractions were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]