LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) recently held an inception meeting for the newly approved project, “Improvement and Semi-automation of the Furnace Type Dryer (FTD) for the lumber, bamboo and other raw materials of the forest-based industries.”
This P6M project is led by Engr. Caezar A. Cuaresma from the Forest Products Research and Development Institute under DOST (DOST-FPRDI).
This project will play a big role in the postharvest and processing of non-timber forest products (NTFP) such as bamboo, rattan, pandan, wood furniture, and handicrafts. With a high demand for these NTFP, appropriate modifications on the current design of the FTD is necessary to make it more responsive to the needs of the furniture and handicraft industries.
According to Engr. Cuaresma, switching from manual to semi-automatic operation can prevent human errors such as improper or excessive fuel feeding and over spraying. By optimizing the design of the FTD, essential factors such as the heating system, humidification, air circulation systems, and the kiln structure, will be improved.
Dr. Marcelino U. Siladan, Industry Strategic S&T Program (ISP) Manager for Rubber and ITPS, presented the PCAARRD-GIA Guidelines on R&D Projects during the meeting.
With the improvement of the FTD, the project team hopes to solve the industry’s problems by shortening drying time, increasing the dryer’s thermal efficiency, and producing high quality kiln dried lumber, bamboo, and other raw materials for the forest-based industries.