Lesson 4: Wood Production and Use

Billions of lodgepole pine trees in British Columbia have been killed by the mountain pine beetle. How to process and use the wood from these beetle-killed trees has been the recent focus of research. Research and experience has shown that beetle-killed logs are brittle and tend to break easily, which renders many parts of the tree no longer useful. Furthermore, the wood produced from beetle-killed trees is stained blue, which makes it unappealing to potential buyers.

However, recent research at the University of Northern British Columbia has determined that beetle-killed wood can be used to produce a brand new material known as beetlecrete. Instead of using stones and rocks to produce concrete, wood chips are used. Wood does not usually stick to cement, but for some reason it does stick to the wood of lodgepole pine. Amazingly enough, the cement sticks even better to wood that has been attacked by the mountain pine beetle.

To create this product, blue flakes of beetle-killed wood are combined with cement to produce a marbled material that can be best described as a cross between concrete and wood particleboard. It is stronger than many similar products on the market, yet it is only half the weight of ordinary concrete. It pours like concrete, yet it cuts like wood. It is water-resistant and fire-resistant.