A student researcher at the University of Northern B.C. in Prince George has come up with a possible use for the billions of trees killed by the mountain pine beetle.

Sorin Pasca, a master's degree student in natural resources and environmental studies, found that wood attacked by the mountain pine beetle works as "an excellent ingredient for producing concrete," made by mixing cement with water and aggregate.

"Usually the aggregate consists of stones or rocks, but mountain pine beetle wood is a new option," Pasca said. 

"Normally, cement repels organic materials such as wood, but for some reason cement sticks to lodgepole pine and this compatibility is even stronger when the tree has been killed, or you could say, enhanced, by the mountain pine beetle."

The original idea was to see if a wood-cement product could be a replacement for drywall or gypsum board.

But now that the research is complete, Pasca sees all kinds of additional applications, from countertops to flooring and tiles.

"It's a beautiful product that combines all the structural advantages of concrete with the esthetic quality of wood," said Pasca, who used the research to write his master's thesis.

His research involved the use of three sizes of wood chips and three combinations of wood-to-cement ratios. The mixtures were created in the lab, poured into mould and left to cure.

"What emerged were boards that looked like a cross between plywood and concrete. You can drive a nail into them without pre-drilling. You can cut them with regular working tools. They're water-resistant and stronger than many similar products on the market," Pasca said.

Dr. Ian Hartley, UNBC associate dean of graduate programs, said samples of the product have been taken to designers and architects in Vancouver.

"They are excited about the product. In fact one told us, 'You have no idea what you have done,"' Hartley said.

The next step is talking to potential investors about setting up a plant in Prince George to manufacture the product, he said.

The research results were announced to coincide with National Forestry Week, Sept. 23 to 29.

In 2006 alone, 9.2 million hectares of B.C. forest were in an advanced stage of attack from the mountain pine beetle.