Discarded wood-based panels (DWBP), mainly from post-consumer wood furniture, constitute a substantial portion of municipal solid waste, presenting a pressing global environmental concern. The end-of-life medium-density fibreboard (EoL-MDF) with a high content of adhesives represents one of the most typical forms of DWBP. Conventional disposal methods, such as combustion and landfilling, often lead to hazardous substances from adhesives leaching into the air and soil, posing threats to human health and the ecological environment. Pyrolysis has emerged as a candidate for the sustainable management of DWBP, converting them into value-added products, including biogas, bio-oil, and biochar. However, the current research on this topic remains at the pilot experimental stage and has overlooked the environmental sustainability of large-scale processing due to incomplete LCI data. The present study aims to employ Aspen Plus® to design and simulate a large-scale pyrolysis process for EoL-MDF, thereby obtaining comprehensive LCI data on gas emissions and product yields. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) is then conducted to evaluate the environmental performance of EoL-MDF pyrolysis relative to incineration. The results reveal that, per tonne of EoL-MDF, pyrolysis reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 62%–81% and substantially mitigates adhesive-related pollution when compared with incineration. This study demonstrates the potential of DWBP valorisation through pyrolysis and its environmental sustainability from a life cycle perspective.
Wáng et al. (2026) studied this question.