Wood is one of the oldest and most versatile materials used in many industries. From the logging and processing of raw wood to the production of wooden products such as wood chipboards, chips, pellets and briquettes.
The wood industry is a key sector for the building industry, furniture production, power industry and many other areas. In addition to traditional wood processing, wood recycling is becoming increasingly important, contributing to sustainable development and resource efficiency.
WHY ARE MAGNETIC SEPARATORS AND METAL DETECTORS USED IN WOOD PROCESSING AND RECYCLING?
The application of magnetic separators and metal detectors is essential for the modern wood processing industry. It ensures safety, efficiency and high-quality production, which is crucial for business success and market competitiveness.
Equipment protection
Metal particles such as screws, nails, broken metal parts of machines or conveyors can cause damage to production equipment (e. g. pellet presses), during wood processing. Magnetic separators and metal detectors can remove these metal contaminants, what minimizes the risk of damage to the processing machines, extends their life expectancy and reduces maintenance and repair costs.
The quality of the final product
The removal of metal particles increases the quality of the final wooden product. The magnetic separator ensures that the wood chips or wood pellets are free of metal contamination, thus improving their quality.
Increased efficiency of the production process
Effective removal of metal contaminants increases the production efficiency and reduces downtimes caused by machine damage or product contamination.
SOLLAU
Manufacturer of magnetic separators for the woodworking industry.
We manufacture these separators. We produce them in our plant in the Czech Republic. Thanks to this we can guarantee the top quality and we can adapt them to your requirements.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND MAGNETIC SEPARATORS IN WOOD PROCESSING AND RECYCLING?
Raw wood processing
Raw wood is first harvested and transported from forests to processing plants. Here, the wood is sorted according to species, quality and size. This allows optimum material use for various purposes.
The following metal detectors are most commonly used in raw wood processing:
Metal detectors play an important role in raw wood processing as they help to identify and remove metal contaminants that can cause damage to machinery and affect the quality of finished products.
Metal detectors are placed at the beginning of the production process, often on conveyor belts where the raw timber passes through. The detectors immediately detect the presence of metal objects such as nails, screws, wires or metal fragments that may be present in the wood raw material. When detecting metal contaminants, the system will automatically stop the conveyor or signal the operator to remove the contaminated material.
Wood chips production / wood recycling
Wood chips are small wood particles obtained by wood crushing. They are made from various types of wood waste, such as branches, bark, sawmill residues or old wooden pallets. Wood waste from construction and demolition is recycled as well - furniture, windows and doors are often used for burning in biomass boilers, for mulching in horticulture or as raw material for further processing in the woodworking industry.
The following magnetic separators are most commonly used in the production of wood chips:
Magnetic separators are applied in wood chips production to remove metal contaminants such as nails, screws or wires that could damage shredders or cause problems during combustion.
The most common separators are suspension magnets, under which the wood chips are conveyed. Depending on the amount of iron contaminants, the choice is made between a suspended magnet with manual cleaning or an overband magnet with automatic cleaning.
Inline chute magnets are often used because they can separate even finer ferrous particles. Thanks to this, subsequent technology is perfectly protected - whether press machines or, e. g., combustion devices (boilers).
We also encountered operations where the separation of NON-MAGNETIC metals from wood chips took place as the wooden chips contained non-ferrous metals (copper, aluminum, stainless steel). The goal was to separate them from the wooden chips so that both kinds of materials could be subsequently utilized. For this purpose, we utilized an Eddy Current Separator, which reliably separated both the materials.
Production of wood pellets and briquettes
Wood pellets and briquettes are compact types of biofuel made from wooden chips or sawdust. Wood pellet production involves drying, crushing and pressing the material into small cylindrical (pellets) or larger cubic or cylindrical shapes (briquettes).
The following magnetic separators are most commonly used in the production of wood pellets:
Magnetic separators are crucial in raw material preparation where they remove tramp iron - such as bolts, nuts, nails, etc. These objects could damage the pelleting matrix during pressing = unnecessary machine maintenance costs.
If the occurrence of ferrous particles is irregular, inline chute magnets are utilized. The separated metals are removed manually. The chute magnets are applied if it is necessary to separate iron particles from sawdust which tends to arch (and that is why magnetic grids cannot be used).
If the wood chips are heavily contaminated with ferrous particles, a magnetic separator with automatic cleaning must be used. Most often we recommend housed magnetic drums (the magnetic drum is placed in a housing).
If the size of the crushed wood is larger and there is a risk of clogging the magnetic drum, we recommend semi-closed magnetic drums which are adapted for such material (there is no risk of clogging).
Production of wood particle boards
Wood particle boards (such as single layer particleboards, three-layer particleboards, graded density particleboards, melamine particle boards, cement bonded particle boards etc.) are a composite material made from natural wood products bonded with synthetic resin, characterized by firmness, stability and easy machinability, ideal for furniture making, building industry and other applications. Production begins by shredding wood waste into chips, which are dried, mixed with a binder and other additives, and spread into layers. These layers are pressed at high temperature and pressure, then trimmed and, if necessary, surface-treated.
The following magnetic separators are most commonly used in the production of wood particle boards:
Magnetic separators play a key role in the initial phase of chipboard production - that is when the wood chips are being prepared for the further processing. During this process, ferrous contaminants (nails, screws or metal fragments) that could damage the equipment during subsequent drying, mixing and pressing are removed. This will prevent damage to the pressing machines and ensure the high quality of the final products (= particle boards).
Crushing and recycling of wooden pallets
Wood pallet shredding is a process in which worn or useless pallets are shredded down into a more manageable scrap size that makes it easier to be further processed or used as firewood.
The following magnetic separators are most commonly used in the shredding and recycling of wood pallets:
The wood pallets are crushed and the resulting wood chips are then used as eco-friendly biofuel. There are a large number of nails in the pallets. First, the pallets are crushed. Powerful pallet recycling shredders can process even pallets with nails. Since wood chips are used as firewood, they must be free of any ferrous objects that could damage the combustion equipment (e. g., the boilers).
Therefore, we recommend installing a magnetic drum in a housing at the outlet of the crusher (usually behind the screw conveyor), which can effectively separate the tramp iron.
Wood waste recycling by mobile shredders
Mobile shredders are often used for wood waste recycling. We are proud to be a supplier of magnetic technologies for leading manufacturers of mobile crushers and screeners.
The following magnetic separators are most commonly used in the production of wood chips:
Each mobile shredder is equipped with an overband magnet to ensure quality separation of ferromagnetic contaminants. We manufacture such separators.
We have our own development department so we can design a separator precisely according to your needs. We take pride in meeting specific customer's requirements so that the separator is fully compatible with the mobile line.
CASE STUDIES
7. 11. 2024
Initial status
A leading manufacturer of mobile shredders uses overband magnets in its equipment. However, there are applications, such as wood waste recycling, where the...
2. 5. 2024
Initial status
A manufacturer of wood pellets had to solve problems with the the undesirable presence of metals in the pellets.
Problem
His key customer has repeatedly...
30. 11. 2023
Initial status
The customer is engaged in the production of wood chips (the wood is cut and crushed to smaller pieces of 5 - 30 mm). Wood chips often contain non-ferrous...
9. 11. 2023
Initial status
Our customer is a specialist in the production of wood chips and wood pellets. In the crushed wooden material there are often metal particles causing damage...
10. 8. 2023
Initial status
A prominent Czech manufacturer in the field of wood processing industry needed to remove metal objects from wooden logs.
14. 3. 2023
The customer used the MBZ magnetic drum to separate metals from wood chips. Crushed pallets are transported by a screw conveyor, at the end of which the MBZ GRIZZLY magnetic...
12. 9. 2022
Initial status
In the woodworking and paper industry, a part of the input raw material consists of recycled wood chips (from used pallets, old furniture, etc.). That is why...
REFERENCES
SOLLAU is a proud supplier of magnetic separators to these companies:
CONTACTS
Do you have questions about our products? Do not hesitate to contact us!
Our sales team is ready to provide you with full support and help you find the best solution for your needs in the field of magnetic separation. We offer not only standard products, but also customized solutions. You don't have to worry about complicated technical challenges. Just contact us and we will be pleased to help you.
You can contact us by phone, email or via our web form.