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MATERIALS 53
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emissions, and advantages over synthetic materials, natural
fibres, and NFCs have gained significant attention from Chaabani Mohamed Dhia
researchers and industry.

Basis for the Study
Despite wood’s inherent advantages, including superior structural
properties, its potential has been underexplored. The current
wood product manufacturers produce waste in different forms,
which can range from sawdust, wood shavings, to strands,
veneers and even lumber pieces.
Though most of these have an established recycling market
and process, resinated strand waste is generally treated as Wastage could be significantly higher with increased
landfill, forming the primary focus of the current study. production capacities. Current practices involve using the

Mass timber panels, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), waste biomass as landfill due to the presence of resin, but
have spurred renewed interest in wood composites. The success the cost is substantial.
of utilising low-quality forest resources for high-value building Addressing the need to investigate the reusability of waste
materials has prompted studies on strand-based corrugated strands, this study explores recycling and sieving to create
core sandwich panels for walls, floors, and roofs with both new panels, potentially increasing carbon sequestration and
functional and structural advantages. enabling zero-waste production.
A standard OSB mill has a solid waste of about 1.63 kg/ A review of the existing literature shows a lack of data

cubic metre, even after ensuring the majority of the waste in understanding the reusability and recyclability of waste
has been utilised. This number would be higher for start-ups, resinated strands for use in composite panel products. To
where strand-based technologies would yield about 5–10 understand their reusability, it is critical to understand the
percent of solid waste, which can amount to about 300 kgs/ performance of the panels made from recycled strands,
day for a small production facility with an average capacity compared to those made from virgin strands (referred to as
of about 733 cubic metres per annum, producing about 100 control strands in this study).
panels daily, each measuring 1.22 m × 1.44 m × 0.009 m, in Addressing the need to investigate the reusability of waste
a single daylight press at 75 percent capacity. strands, this study explores recycling and sieving to create
These numbers have been developed through calculations new panels, potentially increasing carbon sequestration and

made by the authors for current industrial partners interested enabling zero-waste production.
in strand-based products. For comparison, a standard OSB The research compares the performance of panels made
manufacturing plant has a capacity of 7.3 million cubic metres from recycled strands to those made from control strands.
per year, which is conventionally measured at 75 percent of It focuses only on recycling resinated waste strands
the plant’s actual capacity. collected during blending, mat-forming, and pre-forming
This waste, having almost 50–70 percent of usable strands, stages in making standard boards in lab-scale facilities,
contains feedstock for almost 10 or more panels, where about which has also been used as the control for the current

50 percent are resinated strands produced from blending, mat study, assessing the impact of the initial adhesive application
forming, and pre-forming stages. on panel properties.