Anaerobic digestion of monocotyledons in particleboard production – a concept of process integration to increase substitution of wood raw material

The purpose of this conceptual study was to introduce a possibility of integrating a surface treatment of monocotyledons by enzymes into particleboard production to provide a substitute raw material to replace wood particles. Because of the greater competition for wood as a raw material for particleboard production, there is increasing interest in monocotyledons as a substitute for wood. Monocotyledons, such as grass or cereal straw, differ from wood mostly in that they have a surface layer of waxes and embedded silica. If particles of monocotyledons are to be used in combination with wood in particleboards they must be modified. Using the concept of anaerobic digestion, it is possible to modify the surface of monocotyledon particles, having methane as a side product and to achieve a process, which leads to greater product diversity. A SWOT analysis was used to evaluate the process.