Improving Performance of Phenol-Formaldehyde Resins Modified/Blended with Phenol-Rich Pyrolysis Bio-Oil

Abstract

Abstract In this study, we compare the panel performance of plywood made with phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins modified and blended with phenol-rich bio-oil produced from pyrolysis of biomass. The modified PF resins were synthesized with phenol-rich bio-oil at phenol substitutions of 10, 25, 50, and 75 percent. The blended PF resins were prepared by blending control PF resin with phenol-rich bio-oil at 4, 13, 23, and 38 percent by weight. These resins were examined with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and evaluated as plywood binders. The results indicated that the apparent viscosities of modified PF resins were similar to those of control PF resin, while the apparent viscosities of blended PF resins increased with the addition of phenol-rich bio-oil. As the amount of phenol-rich bio-oil increased, the gel times of both modified and blended PF resins decreased first and then increased. FTIR results showed that modified PF resins with up to 25 percent substitution had FTIR spectra similar to those of control PF resin, while blended PF resins with a higher amount of added bio-oil had spectra more like those of bio-oil. TGA results showed that at temperatures of 25°C to 400°C, both modified and blended PF resins with high bio-oil content had better thermal stability than the control PF resin. Panel tests showed that modifying or synthesizing PF resin with phenol-rich bio-oil up to 50 percent increased both dry and wet bond strength. Blending PF resin with phenol-rich bio-oil up to 13 percent increased both dry and wet bond strength compared with control PF resin.