U.K. start-up MDF Recovery courts investors, directors say their technology returns MDF to virgin fiber quality by using ohmic heating to break down resins

Wendy Lisney

LOS ANGELES , August 30, 2011 (Forestweb) – MDF Recovery, A U.K. start-up planning to recycle MDF into reusable fiber, expects it will be at least 18 months until it can open its first plant, and is hoping to attract investors.

Director Jim New and co-director Craig Bartlett won grants to develop the recycling technology, but are now looking for investments totaling £6 million so that they can build a plant which would process 30,000 tonnes of fiber a year, Wood Based Panels International reported on Aug. 30.

The technology separates the chemicals used in MDF by ohmic heating, which involves passing an electric current through a soup of shredded MDF and water. This causes the resins binding the fiber to break down and returns the material to the quality of virgin fiber, the company said.

Currently the U.K. dumps about 340,000 tonnes of MDF annually, creating a ready source of fiber that could be recycled to make products ranging from panels to compost.

New said the company had proven the technology and done the practical work and now needs to move through a pilot plant stage to a full plant, which he said could be achieved in 18 months.

The primary source of this article is Wood Based Panels International, London, on Aug. 30, 2011.

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