Activities
The goal of EcoReFibre is to develop and demonstrate innovative technologies for environmentally sound and commercially viable recycling of fibreboards. Three types of recovered wood materials are being recycled:
- Industrial fibreboard byproducts and wastes, for instance generated during fibreboard production or furniture manufacture
- Post-consumer fibreboards like used furniture
- Post-consumer solid waste wood
These stock materials are processed into fibres and fines. Whereas fibres have an elongated shape, fines are shorter with lower aspect ratios.
Replacing 25 % of virgin fibres
Recovered fibres, combined with virgin wood fibres, are used to make panels like Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) and High Density Fibreboard (HDF). Additionally, different types of insulation products are made from recycled fibres. EcoReFibre aims at replacing at least 25 % of the wood fibres used in fibreboard production across Europe by recycled fibres. Fines play a role in particleboard production but can also be repurposed into novel products like building blocks, as demonstrated by the project, maximising resource efficiency
How fibreboard recycling can be facilitated
The work on these technologies and methods is complemented by the exploration of promising new business models and the identification of market drivers and barriers. Extensive life cycle analyses will assess the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the technologies, products, and recycling pathways.
To address these objectives, EcoReFibre is organised in 5 work packages:
WORK PACKAGE 1 : Waste Provision
OBJECTIVES
- Optimise and demonstrate an efficient sorting technology for the separation of fibreboard and solid wood from post-consumer wood waste (European Waste Catalogue (EWC) streams 17 & 20).
- Provide actors in the value chain with accurate predictions of future waste fibreboard volumes in Europe for the next 20 years.
WORK PACKAGE 2 : Smart extraction of secondary materials
OBJECTIVES
- Develop and demonstrate industrial thermo-hydro-mechanical processing technologies to recover secondary materials from sorted waste fractions.
- Determine the quality of secondary materials for use in a variety of products and for optimisation of the processing technologies.
WORK PACKAGE 3 : Recycling of secondary materials into products
OBJECTIVES
- Demonstrate at industrial scale the valorisation of secondary materials from WP2 into novel improved products for furniture and building construction: particleboards, biocomposites, fibreboards, and insulation products.
- Determine the performance of these products to steer and optimise the manufacturing process and settings.
WORK PACKAGE 4 : Sustainability, Health & Safety
OBJECTIVES
- Identify environmental, economic and social impacts of products made from secondary materials against current reference products.
- Identify environmental, economic and social impacts of new recycling pathways against current waste management scenarios.
- Make recommendations for improving economic profitability as well as environmental and social relevance of the Demos and further industrial developments.
WORK PACKAGE 5 : Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication
OBJECTIVES
- Ensure broad dissemination of results and data by proactive communication towards important target groups and market actors engaged with the project.
- Prepare and deliver effective exploitation of results and support partners in IP management, business planning, commercialisation, and develop a sectorial roadmap and policy recommendations.
- Foster networking and outreach activities towards policy stakeholders, committees, clusters and other R&I initiatives,
including international interested parties and standardisation working groups.
WORK PACKAGE 6 : Coordination
OBJECTIVES
- Coordinate scientific, technical, administrative and financial activities throughout the project
- Establish a Steering Committee, an Executive Board and an External Advisory Board