PANEL MANUFACTURING
New life for waste wood
Why should companies invest in recycled raw material to produce new products? IMALPAL Group shares about the urgency faced by panel manufacturers to mitigate environmental impacts and how its technology helps breathe new life for waste materials.
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT Since the shortage of fresh wood in 1980s, panel manufacturers have involved IMALPAL Group to seek solutions for utilising waste wood as a new raw material. Improved lifestyles are leading to an increase in the amount of waste produced, amongst which there is also an abundant amount of wood waste, ready to be turned into a new and useful resource. The IMALPAL Group aims to design machinery and systems that can remove contaminants from waste wood to give it a new value by taking it to the same level as fresh wood to be used in the manufacture of new panels. The contaminants are removed homogeneously so that these may be reutilised as well, hence further reducing the amount of waste that would normally end up in landfills. In this supply chain process, waste wood is chipped using suitably designed PAL chippers that can produce quality chips without generating dust. The wood chips first go through the Cleaning Tower, a cleaning system arranged inside a tower where material is transferred from one cleaning device to the next by the force of gravity, without using conveyors, thus minimising power and maintenance costs.
The difficulties which panel manufacturers have in sourcing fresh wood are nothing new. This problem which first arose in the 1980s, at the time affecting just a few parts of the world, has now grown to a global level and needs to be addressed in a serious and efficient manner. The “Green campaign” and words like “Recy” that were once unheard of, have now become well familiar and dauntingly real, increasing our awareness of the necessity to save and protect our planet. Public opinion is becoming more sensitive and the campaign against deforestation, even when it is planned and cyclic, is leading to a shortage of fresh wood.
The new world targets to reduce CO2 emissions and the need to mitigate the environmental impact that mankind is generating, means that everyone must play their part. As a result, manufacturers are beginning to focus more closely on the environment, propelled by their conscience and the demand from consumers to purchase goods made from recycled materials that serve the same purpose, even though they may be more expensive. Despite these challenges, innovation and technology have shown time and time again to be the best tools to tackle problems, provided the industry knows the right places to look.
Cleaning Tower system
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2024 | PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA 35
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker