Wood fibres dryer for MDF

Medium-density fibreboards (MDF) dried efficiently in Büttner's flash tube dryers

A preferred material for furniture, flooring or ceiling panelling: medium-density fibreboards (MDF) are in use around the world. Their quality depends on proper production. Büttner supplies the wood-based panels industry with energy systems, drying systems and burners, which ensure that wood fibres are quickly and efficiently dried, before they are pressed.
Medium-density fibreboards are made of wood fibres and characterised by their especially homogeneous structure. This allows for the edges to be machined directly as well as a direct painting process. MDF is utilised both in furniture construction and in the production of laminate flooring or ceiling panelling.

Medium-density fibreboards are normally produced from fine wood fibres and glue. Depending on the region and availability, pine, spruce, beech, poplar, as well as eucalyptus and rubberwood trees are used. After the wood has been reduced to fibres, it is mixed with glue in a refiner and then dried in flash tube dryers. The required thermal energy is normally generated by energy systems, which burn both the waste material from the production process as well as purchased fuels such as biomass, oil or gas. The drying system can be heated directly with flue gas, turbine exhaust and burners, as well as indirectly with steam.

The interaction between energy system and drying system gives rise to particular requirements:

  • The energy system must provide for two or more heat consumers acting partly independent from one another. A sophisticated control concept helps to provide a constant supply of heat to all outlets.

  • The wood fibres are dried in mere seconds in the flash tube dryer; for this reason, very little time remains to compensate for variations in the drying process with the rapid control system.

Büttner's decades of experience constructing energy and drying systems guarantees trouble-free and optimal operation for the matching systems.