Wood Drying Industry in Nigeria: Present Status, Challenges and Prospects of Solar Kiln Drying Technology Amoo-Onidundu ON*, Ajala OO, Areo OS, Olayiwola YB and Omidiran MO Department of Forest Products Development and Utilisation, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Nigeria Crimson Publishers Wings to the Research Mini Review *Corresponding author: Amoo- Onidundu ON, Department of Forest Products Development and Utilisation, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, PMB 5054, Jericho Hill Estate, Ibadan, Nigeria Submission: December 06, 2023 Published: December 20, 2023 Volume 19 - Issue 5 How to cite this article: Amoo-Onidundu ON, Ajala OO, Areo OS, Olayiwola YB and Omidiran MO. Wood Drying Industry in Nigeria: Present Status, Challenges and Prospects of Solar Kiln Drying Technology. Res Dev Material Sci. 19(5). RDMS. 000972. 2023. DOI: 10.31031/RDMS.2023.19.000972 Copyright@ Amoo-Onidundu ON, This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited. ISSN: 2576-8840 Research & Development in Material science Introduction Timber is a versatile raw material provided by nature and derived from natural or plantation forest [1]. Utilization of timber for various applications has outlived many years, from time immemorial. Wooden products or wood-based items are major end products of timber which are commonly used in homes, recreation centres, markets, churches, mosques, offices, and other social gathering both locally and globally. Wood products used for domestic and industrial applications include desk, table, flower vase, kitchen cabinet, wardrobe, chair, and stool [2,3]. Although wood is known to be among the common raw material for structural and construction materials that ever existed, its utilization is hinged on certain processes which makes it more reliable in terms of service performance. Among the vital timber processing procedures which enhance the utilization potentials, durability and service performance of wood products are timber drying [4]. Drying of timber has various importance in relation to its integrity has an engineering material. Wood seasoning improves the dimensional stability of timber, increases the strength properties, eases transportation and handling of timber, enhances preservation and adhesive 2294 Abstract Drying of wood is imperative towards improving its utilization potentials and service performance. However, it is no gainsaying that the wood drying industry in Nigeria is an obscure sector of the wood products manufacturing industries. Numerous timber species (indigenous and exotic) are available in Nigeria but utilization of properly seasoned timber for structural and construction application is at its lowest ebb. Out of few wood drying facilities available in Nigeria, a small percentage are operating to their expected capacity. This may be attributed to epileptic power supply, cost of operating and maintaining wood drying facilities, high energy consumption, and poor attitude of wood stockiest (or end users) to wood seasoning. Several local wood products manufacturers (small and medium scale) dry their timber by end racking them under the sun, or air drying. These two timber seasoning procedures undermine wood drying quality and increase susceptibility of wood-based products to deformation, biodeterioration, delamination, disjointing and poor service performance. Apart from the aforementioned timber drying procedures, wood products manufacturers in Nigeria are resorting to production of wood-based items from medium density fibre board (MDF). However, utilization of MDF is undermining the relevance of solid wood in the structural and construction industry. This article focuses on present status, challenges and prospects of Nigerian wood drying industry as it affects timber utilization for wood products manufacturing. Solar kiln technology was recommended as a viable method of addressing the challenges and improving the present status of Nigerian wood-based industry. Solar energy is relatively cheap, sustainable, ecofriendly, and involves the use of a renewable energy resource which is potentially cost effective. Due to its availability, affordability and applicability, harnessing solar kiln technology in wood drying industry will enhance the relevance of solid timber to wood products industry in Nigeria. Keywords: Service performance; Utilization; Renewable energy; Medium density fibreboard; Nigeria