How long does it take for wood shavings to decompose? Follow Woodbase’s article below for more details. 

Contents

What are wood shavings?

wood shavings are created from large logs that are chiseled, cut, and torn into beautiful wooden products of commercial value. Small pieces of wood, less than 3cm in size, are called wood shavings. As can be seen, wood shavings are a type of by-product generated during the processing of furniture production.

However, to be able to produce a large number of wood shavings for export today, the initiative to create wood shavings has also been applied more commonly. From the branches or trees that have used large-capacity wood crushers, in just a few minutes, it is possible to create a whole bunch of wood shavings very quickly and conveniently.

What are wood shavings used for?

Here are the detailed applications of wood shavings in some fields:

The main raw material for the production of plywood

Particleboard or wood shavings is one of the important inventions of German Max Himmelheber. wood shavings are created from wood waste after grinding. Then mixed with some other materials combined with specialized adhesives, then pressed again under high temperature to create wooden planks. wood shavings are widely used in the production of cheap furniture.

Raw materials for producing wood pellets

Wood shavings are biomass materials used to produce sawdust pellets or wood pellets. Through modern production lines, wood shavings are pressed into small and hardwood pellets. Wood pellets have low moisture content, low ash, and high heat output, so wood pellets are used to replace traditional fuels.

How long does it take for wood shavings to decompose?

Vietnam is one of the countries with a shortage of natural wood sources, because wood production and processing facilities are on the rise. Therefore, the use of wood shavings crushed from wood waste as fuel to replace natural wood sources is a perfect choice. In addition, wood shavings are cheaper than natural wood sources but are easy to catch fire and generate high heat. Currently, wood shavings are also imported products by countries around the world to replace other types of burning materials.

Raw materials for pulp production

Pulp is ground from wood sharvings and is the main raw material for paper production. Currently, the paper production capacity in Japan and China is very large, leading to extremely high demand in these countries for pulp sources. 

Vietnam is the main export market for the pulp of the two countries, accounting for 60%. With relatively limited domestic supply, China will continue to rely on neighboring countries to supply pulp materials in the future.

How long does it take for wood shavings to decompose?

The natural decomposition of the wood shavings in the compost pile can take several months depending on the size of the chips, the type of wood and the climate. Sometimes wood shavings can take as little as three months to break down into finished compost, but it can take two to four years if you let them break down naturally.

How long does it take for wood shavings to decompose?

During the summer months, the center of the pile heats up and the wood shavings decompose more quickly. During the winter, the rate of decomposition tends to slow down due to the cold.

Tips to speed up decomposition

  1. Reduce the size of wood shavings

Larger wood shavings break down more slowly than smaller wood shavings. If your wood shavings are in large chunks, run them through a wood chipper to reduce the size and speed up the composting process.

  1. Spread some fertilizer

Spread a handful of 10-10-10 granular fertilizer evenly over the compost pile, or use two if the pile is large. You can also choose a fertilizer with a higher nitrogen concentration instead of a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer, which has an equal ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

  1. Add a nitrogen source

Wood-degrading bacteria eat nitrogen, so they work faster if you add more. Suitable nitrogen sources include manure, urea, coffee, grass clippings, ammonium sulfate, kitchen scraps, comfrey leaves, and urine. Composting toilets are a great way to add nitrogen for urine composting.

  1. Wet the mound for quick compost

To start the composting process, sprinkle water between each layer of the compost pile until it is just damp. Water the pile to ensure stable moisture. Fertilizers are also water soluble.

  1. Bacterial transfer to the compost heap

Bacteria and fungi are the bacteria responsible for breaking down organic matter into compost. Bacteria are faster acting than fungi and materials that are beneficial to the fungus are generally slower to spoil. Because wood is rich in lignin, an antimicrobial protein, fungi do most of the initial work to break down wood into components accessible to bacteria.

  1. Turn the compost more often

After you start your compost pile, turn it over every two weeks wood shavings, bark and green matter can break down into finished compost in as little as three months, especially in the summer when the center of the compost heats up. Do not invert it in the winter, as inverting may release heat and interfere with decomposition.

About Woodbase

If you are the first to find Pine wood shavings for horses, perhaps Woodbse will be one of the perfect saviors you are looking for.

Woodbase has been a solid player in the wood industry market for many years. Here we supply more than 30000 tons per month so that you can be assured of our source. In addition, we not only focus on low prices but also on environmentally safe. We are committed to giving you the best shopping experience.

Link of product: Wood shavings Manufacturer and Supplier in Vietnam – Woodbase®

Contact us via the following information:

Conclusion

We hope you have learned the information about How long does it take for wood shavings to decompose? that we mentioned earlier. In addition, we also hope that information about the origin and market from Woodbase will also help you learn more exciting things.

Finally, if you have any questions, leave a comment right below this article, and we will send you the most appropriate answer soon. Thanks for reading!

Open chat
1
Hello 👋
Can we help you?