Once fibreboard chips have been sorted, the next step is to break it down into usable fibres. For this purpose, DIEFF is testing an innovative impact reactor, a machine that efficiently reduces fibreboards into fibres and fines. Compared with conventional mills, the impact reactor consumes less energy, requires less maintenance and offers greater flexibility.

The technology operates in two modes. In the “dry process”, suited to Europe’s large scale particleboard producers, fibreboard is separated from mixed recovered wood and fed directly back into production, increasing efficiency and reducing raw material demand. In the so called “wet process”, fibres are recovered in a water bath using an electric current, a method not yet demonstrated at industrial scale due to cost and operational challenges. To address this, DIEFF is now adapting the impact reactor for the wet process, introducing new features that builds on the dry process while making large-scale wet fibre recovery technically and economically feasible.