Francis Kofi Bih

• University of Education, Winneba

The decreasing availability of economic hardwood timber species throughout tropical countries has necessitated the need to adopt plantation grown exotic timber species into the mainstream of raw materials in the furniture and wood manufacturing industries. However, published research on the material properties of most of these exotic timber species...

This study examines the physical and mechanical properties of the sapwood and heartwood of the stem and branch wood of the West African ebony (Diospyros mespiliformis) to determine if the branch wood can be used for various products. Three mature Diospyros mespiliformis trees with stem diameters at breast height ranging from 50 to 65cm and branch d...

The demand for innovative products from renewable sources has motivated research development to create new sustainable materials. Cassava starch (CS) has been widely used for bonding and composing different types of products. Particleboards produced from cocoa (Theobroma cacao), wood wastes, and CS adhesives can be an environmentally correct and ec...

The field of eco-friendly wood preservation, particularly the potential of thermal modification, is an area that demands immediate attention. There is an urgent need to promote the use of lesser-known timber species. This task requires filling the gap in research by evaluating the impact of thermal modification on the physical properties of a Ghana...

The increasing scarcity of major commercial tropical hardwood species has necessitated the utilization of plantation grown exotic timber species as a potential means of maintaining Ghana's foundation of timber resources. To better consider Albizia lebbeck as a substitute for wood species which are being seriously over-exploited to the point of comm...

The study aims to investigate the chemical properties of the wood and bark of two tropical tree species Nesogordonia papaverifera and Holarrhena floribunda from Ghana to increase the efficiency of their utilization. For this purpose, for each of the species five mature trees with similar diameters at breast height were selected. Lignin, cellulose,...

Expanding the base of wood resources, adoption, and effective use of wood species depend primarily on the knowledge of the properties of the wood and the source from which the wood was obtained. The Acacia mangium wood, whose natural durability was determined to establish its practical uses, was extracted from Ada Technical Institute's compound in...

The objective of the study was to assess the performance of one of the most abundant raw materials on Earth – the Elephant grass, for the production of particleboard bonded using cassava starch blended with Aluminium sulphate (Al2(SO4)3) as hardener. The physical, mechanical and decay properties of the manufactured particleboards were analyzed and...

This work examines how ash and the mineral elements in four bamboo culm growth stages (shoot, juvenile, mature and dead) can affect fuel conversion technology plants through slagging, fouling, and corrosion. 48 samples consisting of the shoot; juvenile; mature and dead culms were tested for ash content and ash mineral elements. The mean values of a...

Wetlands are the most important ecosystem of the earth the depletion of ecosystems turn to weaken their ability to provide essential services. This study investigates into the trend acquisition and development of wetland in Kumasi metropolis. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design with a mixed method approach. 120 respondents from 10 wet...

Although research on consumer preference and purchase intentions has received significant attention, little research has been performed with respect to furniture products, particularly in the area of empirical hypothesis testing. This study used regression models to test hypotheses relating to positional goods consumption and environmental and sust...

This paper reports the assessment of safety practices and injuries in a timber company in Ghana. A cross-sectional survey design was used for the study. Data were collected from 300 respondents at a sawmill in Ghana using a 5-point Likert-type scale questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the data analyses. The result in...

Various studies have been conducted on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) over the years. These studies have however, concentrated more on socio-economic issues of NTFPs than methods of inventory. Forest inventory methods developed for timber have been found to be inefficient for NTFPs because of the special characteristics of NTFPs. Efficient inve...

This study evaluated the choice of people with higher level of formal education on cane furniture in Southern Ghana to provide information that could guide decisions of manufacturers and marketers of furniture. Data were collected using structured questionnaires administered on 712 selected respondents between June and August, 2013. The respondents...

Diese Untersuchung wurde mit dem Ziel durchgeführt, Verfahren zur Aufnahme von ausgewählten „non-timber forest Products“ (NTFPs) in den nicht geschützten Gebieten des Goaso Forest District, Ghana zu entwickeln. Auf diese Weise wurde die Effizienz des adaptiven Klumpenstichprobenverfahrens zum Inventarisieren von ausgewählten „non-timber forest Prod...