Challenges for recycling medium-density fiberboard (MDF)

Abstract

Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) is commonly used for furniture manufactured. The increase in demand and the short relative lifecycle have increased the generated waste volume, increasing concerns about disposal. Despite being mainly composed of input from a renewable source, very little of this material is recycled. In this sense, this aim article performed a literature overview of MDF recycling technologies presenting the challenges and perspectives to overcome this problem. The relevant articles considered for this review were selected from the Web of Science and the Scopus databases. The first step for MDF recycling is its disintegration, which inevitably changes the properties of the wood fibers from MDF waste. Allied with this, the other constituents, like resin, are a challenge to a recycling process that, a priori, is more appropriately carried out only with fibers. Ideally, it would be recycling the MDF in new panels, however, due to the mentioned issues, it is not possible in its entirety, and in a continuous way (in several recycling cycles). As MDF waste is a material with caloric capacity during combustion, converting it to energy is a possibility, especially when other more sustainable alternatives are difficult. An emerging alternative is the pyrolysis and enzymolysis of MDF to obtain valued products. Further studies are needed, both for the disintegration processes to preserve the characteristics of the MDF fibers and the other constituents together with the MDF to favor its recycling. It is lacking evaluation of the economic, and principally environmental issues of each recycling alternative.