Manufacturers are now using 100% fully recyclable furniture to make the next generation of particleboard, with one of the world’s largest producers scaling up production to produce “fully circular” chipboard.
Last week, Kronospan, one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of particleboard, MDF, OSB, and laminate, celebrated the first fully recyclable particleboard rolling off its production line in Luxemburg. This came almost 12 months to the day after it opened a new state-of-the-art plant in Tortosa, Spain, producing 2,000 cubic metres of particleboard every day.
Particleboard, or chipboard, is a manufactured wood made from compressed wood particles – including wood residues, forest thinnings and wood waste from processing. It is a low-cost and strongly bonded general-purpose board used in various applications, including furniture, cabinetry, flooring and construction, and 50% of all IKEA products.
Until now, particleboard manufacturers have been able to create particleboard from 83% recycled material – consisting of 74% post-industrial material from other sawmill waste, sawdust, wood chips and residues, and 9% post-consumer recycled wood waste chip material.
According to Matthew Warnken, an expert in wood waste, “engineered timber products such as particleboard have used formaldehyde glues and paints, making it difficult to recycle into other products. However, a resolution has been found by taking used particleboard, resolving it back into its little chips and particles and making a new board from it.”
Kronospan’s push to produce fully recycled particleboard aligns with its commitment to establish a circular economy: “The new factory works with 100% recycled wood sourced from discarded end-of-life domestic furniture collected by Kronospan’s suppliers. The plan is to get 100 truckloads of recycled wood per day, which will be cleaned, crushed, and turned into boards,” it said ahead of the Tortosa plant opening.
“Panel production is a great way to introduce and maintain the principles of the circular economy,” according to Kronospnthe. “This means we can bring a material that has already been used into production. We create a technological and business environment that allows us to introduce recycled wood into a wider product portfolio.”
“In the process of sourcing wood for our work, we have established clear priorities: 1st choice—recycled wood; 2nd choice—sawmill residue; 3rd choice—sustainable forestry wood.”
How it works
The production process incorporates a new system of drying wood strands at naturally low temperatures and maximising the use of recycled wood, thus dramatically reducing CVOCs.
The recycled material is cleaned, refined, analysed, and sorted. The rest is used by our biomass cogeneration facilities and fully incorporated into the factory’s production process. In this way, all the available material is utilised efficiently.
“Thanks to newly built combined heat and power plants, we cover our own heating needs and generate considerable electrical power. So, as well as delivering a high-quality, fully recyclable product, we can also supply electricity.” Kronospnthe said.
“Through this circular economy concept, we use recycled material to create a product that can be easily recycled, and we also construct an entire technological “ecosystem” that benefits nature and society.”
