Cellulose is a versatile and renewable natural resource which has attracted increasing attention in the last decade, expecially after the energy crisis of 1973. Apart from its extensive use as asolid product, wood is the most important source of cellulose fibres for papermaking and is also widely used as a source of energy. The form and availability ot- the forest provides a great opportunity for technological improvement and innovation in the future to satisfy the foreseeable increasing demand for wood- based products. For example, North American sawmills and plywood mills presently recover...