Particleboard often represents the lowest cost option amongst a range of suitable wood panel products. Particleboard consumption in the world is approximately 57% of total wood panel consumption and the demand is growing at 2 – 3% per year. This demand required more and more wood chipping to supply the raw materials as particleboards are traditionally made using custom flaked softwood particles.
Hardwood sawmill residues have traditionally not been favoured by the particleboard industry (or indeed other forest product industries) owing to their high density and high extractive content. Throughout Australia considerable quantities of hardwood sawmill residues are produced as solid waste. In Victoria alone, over a million cubic metres of saw logs are converted annually into sawn timber, producing in excess of 200,000 tonnes of hardwood sawdust. In recent years, the re-growth and plantation timber industry in Australia has been producing hardwood sawmill residues with lower extractive contents and lower densities.
RMIT researchers are aimed at developing an economical methodology for making particleboard using 100% hardwood sawmills waste. Subsequently, in consultation with the softwood particleboard industry, a preliminary process of making particleboards in the laboratory was developed. This method was trialled and modified until an acceptable particleboard could be produced. Further research are happening in this space to scale up the production and utilise the valuable waste products.
