Influence of Adding Offcuts and Trims with a Recycling Approach on the Properties of High-Density Fibrous Composites

The sizeable global production of wood-based products requires new sources of raw material, but also creates large quantities of wastes or composites that do not comply with requirements. In this study, the influence of different shares of recovered high-density fiberboards (HDF-r), reversed into the production, on industrial HDF properties, has been examined. HDF-r may be a suitable partial substitute for raw pinewood for industrial HDF production. Although most of the mechanical properties, as well as thickness swelling and water absorption, had a linear decrease with the increase in the share of HDF-r share, the elaborated boards met most of the commercial requirements (EN 622-5). The property that did not meet the requirements was the internal bond strength for panels with 10% of HDF-r. The presented results show that, after some adjustments, it should be possible to produce HDF boards with up to 10% of recycled HDF being able to meet all commercial requirements.