Sonae Arauco to Install World’s First Fiberboard Recycling Line

Andritz has received an order to supply a dry fiberboard recycling line to Sonae Arauco’s mill in Mangualde, Portugal.

The line will recycle end-of-life fiberboards back into valuable fibers as new raw material for fiberboard production. It will be the first industrial-scale fiberboard recycling line in the world.

Paulo Pinto De Sousa, Director at Sonae Arauco, says: “Recycling fiberboards is an important step towards a circular economy. It reduces the consumption of natural resources and energy.”

The dry fiberboard recycling line is based on continuous steam treatment with a special discharging system using the ANDRITZ Steam-Ex discharger, which minimizes steam consumption and maintenance requirements. This allows continuous processing of fiberboard material with very low steam consumption and high runnability.

Start-up of the fiberboard recycling line is scheduled for the second quarter of 2025.

Sonae Arauco is one of the world’s largest producers of wood-based panels.