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Wood Dust in the Woodworking Industry

Wood dust (sawdust) is the biggest waste in the woodworking industry. Most processes in the woodworking industry, such as sawing, sanding, boring, and other wood machining formations, will always produce wood dust. As a big waste, the wood dust should be managed properly to provide the clean room and healthy woodworking environment. The accumulated wood dust in the woodworking room will reduce the work space and disrupt the work process. The wood dust also interferes with human health and increases the risk of fire. Wood dust is also dangerous; it is a highly flammable material; any spark that hits the dust will easily make a big fire that could destroy the entire facility and factory buildings. The wood dust causes health problems; it will cause problems to human health if spread to limbs: eyes, ears, and face. It even can cause allergies for some people. Then the wood dust has to be properly handled to minimize the problem in the woodworking facility.
Although it seems to cause many problems, actually wood dust is a valuable material; with proper handling, it can be used for various purposes. 


woodworking industry

Here are some uses of the sawdust.
  • To make particle board and MDF.
MDF is made from wood chips, shavings, and sawdust that is cooked to get its fiber. The fiber is then flowed to form a thick sheet of mat, dried, and coated with resin. Particle board is made from wood particles and wood flakes mixed with a resin binder pressed by using a hot press to form a sheet with various size, thickness, length, and width. The MDF and particle board products are well known at the woodworking industry and marketed with high economic value. The process of processing the wood dust to make mdf or particle board, if possible, is a profitable process. But the processing to make MDF of particle board needs big machines and facilities that need big capital investment. The machine needs a continuous supply of wood dust in large quantity. The mdf or particle board manufacturers usually collect the wood waste from many woodworking facilities to supply their needs.
  • To make wood briquettes or charcoal.
The wood waste may be physically different from the solid wood, but it has the same chemical properties as the solid wood. It contains a CH compound that stores energy and can be used as fuel. The wood dust can be pressed and compacted to make a solid form that is called wood briquette. The wood briquette is marketed as wood fuel for the stove or fire places; substitute the wood log.
The wood briquettes can be further processed to make charcoal. Charcoal has less energy but is smokeless, so it is preferred to be used for cooking, baking, or fireplace feed. The charcoal contains the active carbon; it also has many uses in the chemical industry.
  • Fuel in the furnace of the kiln dry.
If we run the kiln dry, then we need energy supply to produce hot air in the drying room. There are several energy sources that can be used as an energy source in the kiln, such as electric, solar, or fossil energy, or wood waste. It uses wood waste as an energy source for the kiln. Some woodworking industries integrate their processes into the production by utilizing their wood waste to feed their kiln dry furnace. With the automatic setting, the wood dust from the silo can be directly fed to the oven furnace. By this system, then we can maximize the uses of the wood waste and increase the efficiency of the facility.

Management of the wood dust.

After looking at the many benefits of wood dust and its economical value, we should no longer consider the wood dust as waste but as a side product. It is important to collect and manage the wood dust to make more profit in the woodworking process and facility. With proper management, then we can minimize environmental issues from the wood dust, and at the same time we can maximize profit from the wood dust as a side product.
Here are the things that are needed to care of wood dust.
  •  Dust collector
Dust collector is a facility designed to capture and collect wood dust. There are various dust collectors, from small and portable ones that are installed at each machine to the centralized dust collector for the entire production room. The dust collector is a very important facility that is needed in the woodworking industry. The dust collector is not only equipment to keep the production room clean but is also to collect the wood dust as a side product.
  • Clean the production room every day.
Although it has been equipped with a lot of dust collectors, the room in the woodworking industry is easily dirty and dusty. We have to sweep, mop, or broom the floor every day to keep it clean.
  • Masker
Although we always clean the room and capture the wood dust, it doesn’t guarantee that the woodworking room air is clean. There is always the possibility that any dust escapes and flies in the air. Meanwhile, the dust can cause a healthy problem for the people inside the room. Then we still provide the protective equipment to protect our people from the health problem. Provide maskers and make sure everyone who comes in the woodworking facility is wearing maskers. 

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