The first 80 x 80 mm joist – fig.2. was produced last month on the prototype line upon completion of the trials –fig.1. The intention now is to improve some of the parameters related to production performance to take the travel speed from 1.6 m/min to 2 m/min, and hence to 120 m/h equivalent to producing approximately 3000 m/day with the characteristics established in the project.

Once the fine tuning has been completed, we shall proceed with a third party assessment for the validation of the technical characteristics of the joist and to ultimately transfer the prototype line to the Eirebloc (partner) facility in Ireland by the end of the year.

The innovative horizontal screw conveyor will be presented at the XYLEXPO in Milan, Italy in May 2018.

Fig.1 innovative horizontal screw                                   Fig.2 green joist  80×80

 

GREENJOIST is an innovative process for recycling wood waste to produce high quality, cost-effective, eco-friendly joists made of Super Compacted Recycled Wood (SCRW). Each year in Europe an estimated 15 million tonnes of discarded wood, or enough to fill a train 3km long, goes to landfill or incineration. This  project will show the benefits of a full recycling process based on  the production of innovative high value materials: not only will landfill or incineration of 10 ton/day wood waste be avoided, but a new high quality product will be produced from the recycled material using eco-friendly components. Successful implementation of the project will strongly contribute to fulfilling the objective of Europe to  become a recycling, sustainable society that avoids waste by  treating it as a resource. In fact while Europe is on  track to becoming a recycling society, with 25% of wood waste still landfilled, there is yet much to do to increase recycling rates, and to consolidate current practices, while greening production and expanding the potential market. The GREEN JOIST – which shall also be at least 35% cheaper than wood ones – will be employed in many fields where fresh wood is currently used, namely the manufacturing and construction industry which consumes at least 60 million cubic metres of timber skids and supports made of virgin forest wood each year, and which could be substantially substituted by  the eco-friendly GREENJOIST.

GREENJOIST aims at demonstrating the value and feasibility of an eco-innovative recycling process, able to reuse and valorise wood waste to produce green, high quality and cost-effective joists to be used in different sectors such as manufacturing, transportation, logistics and construction. This will contribute to the consolidation of sustainable eco-innovative businesses in the EU woodworking industry contributing to the achievement of EU 2020 goals of Resource Efficiency, avoiding dangerous impacts on human health and the environment. With a potential to substantially cut the currently landfilled wood waste, amounting to 15 million tons per year, the GREENJOIST project has set out a well-structured plan with the following key objectives:

• Showcase an innovative process for the production of high-quality, cost-effective joists from recycled wood waste through the realization of a pilot plant at pre-industrial, non-commercial scale demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of this novel recycling process
• Foster a sustainable society and economy where waste, which is both harmful and costly, is used as a valuable resource and manufacturing is committed to the environment
• Increase awareness of eco-innovative solutions in both the general public, policy makers and woodworking industry, focusing on the environmental and economic advantages as well as on their technical feasibility
• Avoid the use of virgin wood in the construction of new joists and pallets, saving trees while cutting the CO2 emissions generated for transportation and processing
• Promoting the shift from using potentially harmful chemicals to natural components in the woodworking industry.