The National Association of Timber Industry «Russian Forest» will test a new way of processing sawmill waste

The problem of utilization and processing of sawmilling wastes is one of the most urgent for the forest industry, along with illegal logging and the need for deep processing of wood.

In June 2021, the National Association of Timber Industry «Russian Forest» began implementing a pilot project for the accelerated (within three to four months) processing of sawdust into organic fertilizer. The technology was developed and patented by the Irkutsk Institute of Chemistry. A.E. Favorsky SB RAS.

The pilot project is being implemented in the Ust-Kutsk district of the Irkutsk region. The fertilizer produced according to the new technology is suitable for reclamation of disturbed lands and use in tree nurseries. The use of this organomineral fertilizer gives a high increase in the yield of barley, wheat, peas, oats, green mass of corn, ornamental crops, restores a fertile state to degraded lands.

The fertilizer can be used both to increase the yield of fields and as a fertile layer for the biological stage of land reclamation and other disturbed areas.

«Awareness of the need to dispose of sawmill waste, the search for innovative ways to solve this problem led to close contacts of the Association with the Irkutsk Institute of Chemistry named after A.E. Favorsky Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the conclusion of an agreement on cooperation in the production and implementation of joint projects, the introduction of new technologies in the field of advanced timber processing, scientific research and training of highly qualified personnel», — says Margarita Lee, vice-president of the Russian Forest National Association of Timber Industry.