Wood pellets from MDF sawdust?

[fedtime]

I hear there is a new plant near Halifax, Nova Scotia producing pellets from mdf sawdust. I guess the plant produces mdf mouldings, trim, etc. and uses the sawdust to make pellets.

Anyone know anything about burning mdf pellets? Can you burn mdf? My (admittedly limited) understanding is that mdf (like other composit materials) cannot be burned.

 

[heat seeker]

Isn't there some kind of glue in it? Is burning that a good idea?

 

[Delta-T]

if they re "making MDF" chances are they are just using the waste from chipping and whatnot that goes into MDF. Georgia Pacific has re-tooled some plywood and OSB plants to make pellets when the demand for wood products is low. the rules for residential use pellet manufacturing prohibit the use of adhesives and stuff for the most part, and no post consumer products are supposed to be used at all.
If they are industrial pellets for power or steam generation then they might be able to do that, but I'm not "in the know" about those rules.

 

[heat seeker]

Thanks, that's good to know!

 

[fedtime]

My understanding is that the mouldings side of the company purchases flat-stock mdf and mills it into mouldings, trim, etc. They do not make mdf. They generate a significant amount of sawdust in the process.

I called the business and was advised that the pellets are made from the sawdust from the milling of the mdf. Having milled mdf myself, the sawdust is very fine - almost like a powder - and would no doubt compress into a super hard pellet. I just wonder about the environmental/heath concerns of burning what is, essentially, mdf.

 

[Delta-T]

what I don't understand would be how useful the fiber would be if its already been processed into MDF. Wood fiber is resilient but not infinitely recyclable. I would wonder how well the material would compress in a die after being compressed and processed to be made into MDF in the first place. One of the difficulties of pellet making is material binding in the die and any adhesive used in the MDF making process would certainly make that more challenging and force an awful lot of down time. Most of the "additives" in pellets are not for binding, but to lubricate and increase throughput, and extend the life of the die. I'm not discounting the viability of pellets made from MDF, I'm just thinking out loud here.

 

[briansol]

MDF is almost a 'pellet' already...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-density_fibreboard

Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) is an engineered wood product formed by breaking down hardwood or softwood residuals into wood fibers, often in a defibrator, combining it with wax and a resin binder, and forming panels by applying high temperature and pressure.[1] MDF is denser than plywood.


i guess it would really depend on the type of wax/resin used. Perhaps there's one that's safe for burning (ie, non-toxic).

I'd be weary about burning them until there's been some guy with an important title do a study on it.