Probably the largest briquetting..
Turning wood waste fines into valuable fuel through briquetting
Over the past decades, the UK waste wood industry has undergone significant development. What began in the 1990s as a small recycling stream - primarily supplying the chipboard industry has evolved into a mature market where more than 70% of waste wood is recycled. Today, waste wood is used in panel board production, animal bedding, and energy recovery. However, one fraction continues to present a serious challenge: wood waste fines.
Why wood waste fines are a challenge for the waste wood industry
Fines are inevitably produced during the shredding and screening of waste wood such as demolition timber, pallets, MDF, and RDF. Due to their small particle size, fines are unsuitable for conventional heat and power generation. In the UK, they are also increasingly unsuitable for use as animal bedding. As a result, many operators are left with a material that is now a financial burden, as disposal to landfill involves high and rising gate fees.
At the same time, environmental regulations and market trends continue to push waste streams away from landfill. Even low-grade materials such as grade B and C fines are expected to be reprocessed rather than disposed of. This creates both a challenge and an opportunity.
Wood waste fines briquetting offers a practical and profitable solution.
Wood waste fines briquetting: A profitable solution
By collecting fines and densifying them through mechanical briquetting, waste wood processors can transform a problematic by-product into a valuable fuel. The briquetting process compacts fines into dense, uniform briquettes suitable for industrial boilers.
The process itself is straightforward. Fines generated during screening are collected and fed into a silo, from where they are dosed into a mechanical briquetting press. The press compresses the material under high pressure, forming durable wood fines briquettes with high density and consistent quality. The finished briquettes are cooled and can either be used directly as industrial fuel.
The commercial impact can be significant. Instead of paying landfill gate fees, companies can generate income. Depending on current disposal costs, plant capacity, and the chosen market segment, the gain per produced ton can range from approximately €15 to €50. In many cases, this results in payback periods of less than one year.
Wood fines briquettes deliver high calorific value
For industrial use, briquettes made from fines can be fed into industrial boilers and often meet chip specifications. Due to their higher density, they typically offer a higher calorific value than standard wood chips.
C.F. Nielsen’s mechanical briquetting presses are particularly well suited for briquetting wood waste fines. Compared to pelletizing, briquetting is more flexible when handling low-quality and heterogeneous materials such as demolition wood, MDF, and RDF.
In short, fines no longer need to be a disposal problem. Through briquetting, they can be transformed from waste into a valuable fuel product, reducing landfill costs, lowering transport volumes, and creating a new revenue stream for waste wood processors.
