While forest biomass can be utilised for creating green energy, what is the best use of its wood ash by-product? In Austria, at least, most of this goes straight to landfill. This study looked at the suitability of using wood ash as structural stabilising material in the construction of forest roads.
Researchers from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna and the Institute of Forest Engineering Vienna tested two different types of wood ash, dry bottom ash (DBA) and fluidised bed ash (FBA) with two different mixing ratios.
Monthly load bearing capacity tests showed that DBA was suitable as a structural stabilising material, however this could not be confirmed for FBA. Based on this study, DBA could be a cost-effective replacement for gravel in forest road construction.
Newsletter image credit: William Craig
