Turning wood into animal feed

Sappi’s lignin-based Pelletin product is a key ingredient of animal feeds.


Lignin, a major component of wood and an abundant organic polymer, provides a multitude of functions especially in the industrial and agricultural sectors. Sourced from the wood pulping process as a side stream, Sappi SA uses it to produce Pelletin, a lignin-based additive in animal feed manufacturing.

Pelletin, which is produced at Sappi’s Tugela Mill, is used in the preparation of animal feeds as a binding agent that replaces oil-based binders.

Sappi has recently achieved GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance certification for Pelletin, which is an internationally recognised program for feed safety management.

Extracting valuable lignin from wood pulp.

“Sappi’s certification gives Pelletin a competitive edge in the global lignin market, as it demonstrates its compliance with the highest standards of quality assurance and risk management in the animal feed industry,” says Jason Knock, general manager, Lignin for Sappi Southern Africa. This is vital for the health and welfare of livestock and the safety of food products derived from them, as well as the issue of food security in the country, he says.

Lignin, which is recovered from the pulping process of paper and board manufacturing, is becoming an increasingly important natural alternatives for oil-based products, and is a prime example of the growing bioeconomy.

Plantation trees provide the primary resource for a growing array of wood-based products from structural timber, poles, planks and boards to clothing fabric and animal food additives.

“As a technical lignin, Pelletin primarily functions as a binder in the production of compound animal feeds and acts as a natural glue that binds the feed ingredients and additives together. This makes for a cost-effective compound feed pellet with enhanced durability and strength,” says Jason.

The combined anti-caking and dispersing properties of the product promote mixing uniformity and homogenous blending of all feed ingredients, acting as an effective lubricant reducing friction in the pelleting process, as well as reducing wear and tear on the manufacturing equipment.

Lignin is a major component of wood, extracted during the pulping process.

ABC pioneering processors of biomass

Africa Biomass Company (ABC) has been a pioneer in the development of biomass processing such as wood chips, biofuel, and mulch in both the agriculture and forestry industries in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa over the past two decades.

In 2004 Willem van der Merwe, founder, and CEO of Africa Biomass Company, bought a small, specialised tree felling company and used wood chippers to enhance productivity. Over time these services and equipment were used in agriculture, river rehabilitation projects, and lately also forestry, with a focus on biomass to energy and under canopy mulching.

ABC has grown to meet increasing demand for these services and now has nine production teams using the latest biomass processing equipment and techniques to process plantation residue, alien invasive trees, and encroacher bushes.

ABC specialises in providing contracting services in the following core operations: -

Land Preparation
Serrat mulchers have demonstrated their effectiveness as a comprehensive solution for land preparation before replanting. Plantation managers see this as the future of single-step preparation, replacing the previously used herbicides, burning, and manual labour, which were both labour-intensive and had a detrimental impact on the soil conditions.

Under Canopy Mulching and Fire Management
In South Africa, the practice of under canopy mulching is gaining traction as part of an integrated fire management strategy to reduce fuel loads, such as prunings. ABC is excited about the results obtained through multiple trials in various regions using the rugged Serrat mulchers to process fuel load in an efficient, cost-effective, and ecologically beneficial way to the environment. The Serrat forestry mulchers, available as part of ABC’s contracting fleet or to purchase, come in several widths and can process several diameters of material according to the client’s need.

Biomass to Energy
Correctly sourced biomass is environmentally friendly, renewable, abundantly available, and cost-effective fuel that can be combusted as a source of fuel to generate heat for a variety of applications. Typical sustainable sources of biomass are offcuts from sustainably managed commercial plantations, recycled orchard and vineyard residues, and most importantly invasive alien vegetation that is cleared as part of river rehabilitation projects. Harvesting unwanted alien vegetation increases water runoff, decreases the risk of bush fires, and contributes to the restoration of natural vegetation.

ABC is an authorised dealer for Bandit wood chippers, Serrat mulchers, Badger biomass equipment and Dezzi equipment. They are based in Worcester in the Western Cape and have branches in George (W. Cape), Kirkwood (Eastern Cape), Upington (Northern Cape), Parys (Free State), Tzaneen (Limpopo) and Nelspruit (Mpumalanga).

ABC places a high value on customer well-being and after-sales support, and each customer's operations are treated as unique, with custom-tailored solutions.

ABC are Gold Sponsors at this year’s Focus on Forestry Conference taking place at Karkloof in the KZN midlands from 7-9 November, and conference delegates are invited to visit their stand. ABC CEO Willem van der Merwe will address the following topic on Wednesday, 8th November at 11:55: “The latest biomass processing equipment and techniques available to process plantation residue, alien invasive trees, and encroacher bush.”

For more info visit ABC’s website at www.abc.co.za, their YouTube channel at “Africa Biomass Company” or contact the ABC head office at 023 342 1212.

For a full list of new and used equipment for sale, send an email to: info@abc.co.za

Short-term protection from sapstain and mould

Sap staining fungi and mould are a costly problem in the wood processing industry. Left untreated, freshly cut wood is vulnerable to mould growth within 24 to 48 hours and discolouration from sapstain is noticeable within 5 to 6 days. Until steps are taken to effectively deal with the infection, the decay fungi will continue to grow and lower the grade yield of the wood, resulting in huge financial loss.

“Wood that has been tightly packed for delivery is susceptible to conditions such as heat, humidity and rain which contribute towards a moist environment that is perfect for mould-growing. Even kiln-dried wood is not exempt from mould growth if it becomes wet again. The most effective protection during storage and transit for the domestic and export markets, is the application of a short-term preventative treatment, such as Antiblu® 375,” says JJ du Plessis, senior business manager at LSI - trading as Arch Wood Protection South Africa.

Antiblu® 375 is a leading anti-sapstain treatment used throughout the global wood processing market to achieve safe, effective and cost-effective protection of timber and wood products. The easy-to-use formulation mixes readily with water and is applied to clean timber by using either a spray application, dip or vacuum / pressure impregnation. The active ingredient is a Copper-8-Quinolinolate compound, which rapidly fixes to the timber to provide fungicidal protection.

When applied according to specification and combined with good inventory control practices, Antiblu® 375 will improve the physical appearance and grade yield of wood. However, du Plessis emphasized that timing is the single most important component of this treatment to achieve bright and clean wood which is free from stain, mould or decay and should be applied as soon as possible after felling.

He added that the period of protection and effectiveness will depend on a number of factors such as the concentration and application rate, moisture content in the wood, the type of wood product, stain or mould pre-infection and the severity of the environmental conditions.

For more help on Arch Wood Protection products, please email wood.sa@lonza.com or visit the website www.tanalised.co.za