Wood Shredders and Chippers: Economical Applications

In the recycling industry companies are always looking for ways to recycle more. With the demand for recycling, the industry has grown too. Consumers want products that reflect a more positive attitude to nature and recycling wood based materials takes a huge step towards that.

So how can we ensure that we are recycling as much as we possibly can? Having the correct equipment can give us the right start.

Wood shredders and chippers focus mainly on the economic production of wood chips by breaking down larger pieces of wood into smaller pieces. Some wood is grown specifically for chipping but reclaimed wood for recycling can also be used. Wood can also be taken for chipping from plantations, waste wood, leftovers from construction, agriculture, landscaping, logging and sawmills.

Lots of this wood would have previously gone to landfill however, utilizing the right tools, we can make sure they are repurposed. After the waste wood is put through the chipper/shredder we are left with smaller pieces referred to as wood chippings. Due to different chemical and mechanical properties the bark and the wood are processed differently to create bark chips and wood chips. Wood chips have the most useful characteristics and are used as raw materials in a variety of ways:

• They are used in the cultivation of woods and forests, and in areas where forest fires occur to produce wood chip barriers so controlled burns can take place protecting larger areas.

• Utilization of residual wood is used to create energy saving products such as compacted wood chip blocks. These can be burned in log burning fires in homes.

• Using the organic mulch for gardening and landscaping can help transform gardens using a clean and natural remedy. A lot of wood chippings are used in restoration and ecology.

• Mushroom cultivation relies heavily on wood chippings for a firm and nutrient rich growing platform for farming. Naturally containing high levels of nutrients that will be able to be absorbed in low light levels means they are highly sought after by mushroom cultivators.

• Wood chipping are processed into mulch which is used to produce paper.

• The chips can create a biomass, defined as organic material used as a source of fuel or energy. Biomass can be burned directly or processed into biofuels such as methane and ethanol. Many coal burning power plants have been retrofitted to also burn wood chippings which provide a cheaper and less toxic heat alternative. Smaller biomass boilers are also often installed on site as a source of cheap power.

Recycling wood products using material processing equipment, like wood shredders and chippers, means that the wood, which would once get left by the wayside, can now be processed into a large number of useful products and even be used as biofuel.