The industrial production of fibre-based panels generates large quantities of waste from processes such as sanding, cutting, and other operations. These waste streams mainly consist of broken fibres and contain contaminants such as binders, fire retardants, and other additives, depending on their origin. As a result, they are currently incinerated for energy recovery. However, in a circular economy, material recycling should be the preferred option.
A previous study has demonstrated that waste streams from the processing of medium-density fibre (MDF) panels can be recycled into composites using a mixture of citric acid and sorbitol as bio-based resin (Lewandowski et al. 2024). The present study extended this approach to the use of different fibreboard waste materials, originating not only from MDF processing but also the production of fibre-based insulation and wind-barrier panels. First, different composite mixtures were tested for compression strength and thickness swelling using small test samples. This was followed by upscaling the composite manufacturing process to produce building blocks with a simple geometry through form pressing and heat curing.
Keywords: Composite, Compression strength, Material recycling
Authors
Michael Altgen
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Department of Wood Technology, Norway
Matteo Bourgeois
Université de Montpellier, France
Erik Larnøy
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Department of Wood Technology, Norway
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