Try this on for size!

You may be wearing a wood byproduct made from a material called Rayon ©.

Made from cellulous, Rayon© was first invented in the mid 19^th century and later used to produce an artificial silk. It has since been modified into a wide range of textiles, and a modified version of Rayon© is even used in tires.

Cellulose, the base material for Rayon©, is the most common organic compound on Earth. About 33 percent of all plant matter is cellulose. The cellulose content of cotton is 90 percent and that of wood is 50 percent.

Picture perfect?

For industrial use, cellulose is mainly obtained from wood pulp or cotton and, among its many capacities, it can be utilized as cellulose acetate which is commonly used in photography, for wrapping paper, and for the clear windows on some envelopes.

Cellulose acetate may also be found in adhesives and lacquers.

A taste for wood!

You could also be eating trees and not even know it!

Carboxymethyl cellulose – CMC – is used as a thickener and as a stabilizing agent in food products such as ice cream or ketchup. It can also be used to make artificial vanilla, and it is used in many non-food products such as K-Y jelly, toothpaste, laxatives, diet pills, water-based paints, detergents, and various paper products. CMCs are not toxic and are generally non-allergenic. CMC is also used as a lubricant in eye drops (artificial tears).

Still hungry for more?

Torula, usually labeled as torula yeast, is produced from wood sugars as a by-product of paper production. It is pasteurized and spray-dried to produce a fine, light grayish-brown powder with a slightly yeasty odor and gentle meaty taste. It is widely used as a flavoring in processed foods and pet foods. Baby food, imitation bacon, cereals and baked goods often contain torula.

Chew on this!

Chewing gun is a combination of natural rubber, particularly chicle from the sapidilla trees of Central and South America. Other wood chemicals such as rosin esthers and terpenes are also common ingredients in gum.

A beautiful thing!

Ladies, the cosmetics you use every day contain methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose and methyl hydroxyl. Methanol, a wood based alcohol, is a base ingredient of many colognes.

Gentlemen, if you shave, you too are using wood products as shaving cream often contains tea tree oil, camphor and other derivatives that started out as part of a tree.

A tall order

Tall oil, also called liquid rosin or tallol, is a viscous, yellow-black odorous liquid obtained as a byproduct of the Kraft process of wood pulp manufacture. The name originated as an anglicization of Swedish "tallolja" ("pine oil").

Crude tall oil contains rosins. Rosin finds use as a component of adhesives, rubbers, and inks, and as an emulsifier. The pitch is used as a binder in cement, an adhesive, and an emulsifier for asphalt.

Tall oil derivatives are also a low-cost alternative to tallow fatty acids used in the production of soaps and lubricants. Tall oil is also used in oil drills as a component of drilling fluids.

Warm up to wood

The list of products using wood derivatives could go on for pages, but perhaps one of the most intriguing future possibilities lies in the area of energy.

Many Ontario based forest products manufactures are using mill byproducts for energy, offsetting electricity demand by burning the materials as fuel for steam and heat. The steam can drive generators to produce electricity or be used directly in production. Heat can be used in kilns to dry lumber or heat work areas.

Wood based alcohol is being used as a clean fuel alternative for automobiles and larger scale electricity producers are also looking at wood as an energy source by using sawdust, wood chips, bark and even treetops and leaves.