MDF and HDF fibreboards have multiple applications in the furniture and construction industries. They are also used in the production of laminate flooring. Recycling usually does not happen. Most of them are incinerated at the end of their useful life. Unilin Group developed a technology that changes this.
Wood is a renewable product par excellence. It stores CO2 as long as there is no combustion. So the longer use and re-use of wood is possible, the better for the climate. Unilin Group consciously chooses to use reclaimed and recycled wood for the production of its MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) and HDF (High Density Fibreboard) boards and chipboards. The company specialises in interior design and construction and is headquartered in Belgium.
One hundred million cubic metres
Until now, it was technically impossible to recycle the hundred million cubic metres of annual production of MDF and HDF boards at end-of-life. With Unilin Group's innovation, it is possible to recover and reuse the wood fibres from these boards in an economically viable way to produce high-quality fibreboards on an industrial scale.
Missing link in a sustainable story
Unilin Panels, the division within Unilin Group that produces panel materials, deliberately chooses to use 'reclaimed' wood for production. This is wood waste or wood that is no longer usable and thus saved from burning. In this way, Unilin Group already does not harvest trees for its production in the first place, but gives residual wood an extra life with a new material application. So now Unilin Group is going one step further.
Glue as a binding agent
Véronique Hoflack, president of Unilin Panels, who was herself behind the new recycling technology explains: "Due to the use of glue as a binder for the wood fibres, no industrially viable way existed today to recycle the fibres from board waste at the end of their product life. Most of it is therefore incinerated after use (14 to 20 years on average). We have now succeeded in developing an innovative process to recycle these wood fibres and reuse them to produce new board material. This way, we double the lifespan of the wood fibres. During this longer lifespan, new trees get the chance to grow and in turn store the CO2. A big step forward towards circularity."
EUR 160 million
The development of technology is fully in line with Unilin Group's sustainability strategy. In it, the company commits to contribute to the Paris climate agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°Celsius. Unilin Group sees its sense of innovation as an important prerequisite for achieving these goals. It plans to invest another 160 million euros over the next two years in Belgium in research and development, among other areas.
Circularity in DNA
Bernard Thiers, CEO Unilin Group: "At Unilin Group, circularity has been in our DNA since the beginning. In 1960, we started as a producer of flax chipboards, bringing a solution to waste from the local flax industry. Even then, we saw the challenges around reusing materials as an opportunity. And that is still true today. With our new technology, we can now also close the circle completely for our MDF and HDF boards. This development is fully in line with our sustainable raw materials strategy, where we use 100 per cent reclaimed or recycled wood as well as extending the product life of wood as much as possible."
Internal use
In a first phase, Unilin Group will use the technology to recycle internally used material at its production site in Bazeilles. Here, the company has been investing in technology for the production of MDF and HDF boards for years. In the next phase, recycling capacity will be ramped up to include recycling of externally collected fibreboards and laminate flooring.
World first
The now patented technology is a world first. By 2030, at least 25 per cent of Unilin Group's raw material mix should be replaced by recycled fibre. This will enable it to keep 380,000 tonnes of CO2 stored annually in the wood fibres it gives new life to with this new technology.
