Physical and mechanical properties of flame retardant urea formaldehyde medium density fiberboard

Abstract

Medium density fiberboard (MDF) is one of the widely used wood-based panels to manufacture building components such as furniture units for interior applications. Although MDF is an excellent product it is prone to fire hazard which should be enhanced using flame retardants during its manufacture. Properties of the flame retardant urea formaldehyde (UF) MDF made using a dry process from rubberwood fibers were investigated. Flame retardant chemicals that were evaluated include sodium aluminate, zinc borate and aluminum trihydrate, which were incorporated with rubberwood fibers to manufacture experimental MDF. Four concentration levels, 10%, 15%, 20% and 30% of fire retardants and 15% urea formaldehyde resin based on oven dry fiber weight were used to manufacture experimental panels. Physical and mechanical properties including thickness swelling, water absorption, bending characteristics, and internal bond strength of the samples were determined. Flame retardant properties of the panels were also investigated using a Cabinet Method along with char index, weight loss and size of ellipse area. Finally, thermogravimetry method was employed to analyze thermal properties of the MDF panels. The results showed that thickness swell and water absorption decreased as the flame retardant increased. The MOR was not affected by the flame retardant treatment for boards bonded with urea formaldehyde resin. The internal bond strength showed a small reduction compared with the controls as the flame retardant chemicals increased but not for boards treated with 5% aluminum trihydrate. When the concentration of flame retardant chemicals increased to 30%, the internal bond generally decreased. Char index, area of ellipse and weight loss reduced as the percentage of flame retardant increased. Sodium aluminate showed the best performance in reducing thermal degradation followed by aluminum trihydrate and zinc borate. Aluminum trihydrate cured closely resemble that of the control during the gelation test.