Combined effect of acetylation and wax emulsion on physical and mechanical properties of particleboard

Abstract

Two different acetylation treatments were applied to wood particles as follows: (1) the wood particles were treated with acetic anhydride at 100 °C for 1 h or (2) the wood particles were treated with acetic anhydride (purity 96 %) at room temperature (25 °C) for 48 h. The wax emulsion was applied to the control and acetylated wood particles at 0, 0.5 or 1.0 wt% based on oven-dry weight of the wood particle. Acetylation of the wood particles at normal temperature slightly improved bending properties of the particleboards, while acetylation at high temperature decreased the bending properties. The dimensional stability of the particleboards significantly improved.