In several countries, including Germany, legislative measures require recycling of wood-based panels to be stepped up in order to reduce the volume of boards to be disposed as an organic waste. According to the Technical Guideline For Waste Management (Technische Anleitung Siedlungsabfall) enacted in 1993, dumping of waste containing more than 5 % of organic matters is prohibited, however, a transition period of twelve years is allowed.
Therefore, intensive research work is conducted now in many countries in Europe on how to reutilize particleboards. Thermal utilization is considered as an attractive solution by many experts. However, there is still some reservation regarding the formation of toxic compounds including dioxines during such a process.
Disintegration of particleboards and fibreboards and their reuse as a raw material for particleboards and fibreboards totally or in part, has been investigated in many laboratories.
The results reveal that UF- and PF-bonded particleboards can be prepared from recycled products using the conventional technology of particleboard manufacturing. The boards meet the general standard requirements. Moreover, it has been shown that such boards show a lower formaldehyde release than conventional boards.
The paper gives a review on the state of knowledge in this field; based on the current literature and presents an new concept for reutilization of particleboards. Moreover, areas for further research work are discussed.
Key words: recycling, wood-based panels, particleboards binders, fibreboards.
Correspondence: Edmone Roffael, Institute of Forest Utilisation, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany