Construction products made of sludge waste from the paper industries have been developed in a project funded by the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
Sludge softboard, hybrid MDF and cement-bonded sludge board are the main products developed and tested in the project conducted by the Building Research Establishment, the Biocomposites Centre of the University of Wales and the Bridgewater Paper Company. Secondary products include sludge tiles, low-density cement blocks and sludge hardboard.
Performance tests found the physical properties of the three main products meet requirements of EN622:Fibreboards – Specification and EN634 Cement Bonded Particleboard – Specification, though the sludge softboard is suitable for non-structural use only. The prototypes will be promoted at a series of events and WARP will publish a full report in May.
