Properties of Eco-Friendly Particleboards Bonded with Lignosulfonate-Urea-Formaldehyde Adhesives and pMDI as a Crosslinker.

Pavlo Bekhta,Viktor Savov,Petar Antov,Radosław Mirski,Lubos Kristak,Ján Sedliačik,Gregory Noshchenko,Roman Réh

doi:10.3390/ma14174875

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using magnesium and sodium lignosulfonates (LS) in the production of particleboards, used pure and in mixtures with urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin. Polymeric 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (pMDI) was used as a crosslinker. In order to evaluate the effect of gradual replacement of UF by magnesium lignosulfonate (MgLS) or sodium lignosulfonate (NaLS) on the physical and mechanical properties, boards were manufactured in the laboratory with LS content varying from 0% to 100%. The effect of LS on the pH of lignosulfonate-urea-formaldehyde (LS-UF) adhesive compositions was also investigated. It was found that LS can be effectively used to adjust the pH of uncured and cured LS-UF formulations. Particleboards bonded with LS-UF adhesive formulations, comprising up to 30% LS, exhibited similar properties when compared to boards bonded with UF adhesive. The replacement of UF by both LS types substantially deteriorated the water absorption and thickness swelling of boards. In general, NaLS-UF-bonded boards had a lower formaldehyde content (FC) than MgLS-UF and UF-bonded boards as control. It was observed that in the process of manufacturing boards using LS adhesives, increasing the proportion of pMDI in the adhesive composition can significantly improve the mechanical properties of the boards. Overall, the boards fabricated using pure UF adhesives exhibited much better mechanical properties than boards bonded with LS adhesives. Markedly, the boards based on LS adhesives were characterised by a much lower FC than the UF-bonded boards. In the LS-bonded boards, the FC is lower by 91.1% and 56.9%, respectively, compared to the UF-bonded boards. The boards bonded with LS and pMDI had a close-to-zero FC and reached the super E0 emission class (≤1.5 mg/100 g) that allows for defining the laboratory-manufactured particleboards as eco-friendly composites.

Highlights

Particleboards still predominate in the world production of wood-based composites
To simulate the interaction of the acid released by the latent hardener from lignosulfonates and to compare the effect of LNa and magnesium lignosulfonate (MgLS) on pH, we studied the intferoramctiloignnionsualsfyosntaetmescaonndtationicnogmapcaidreotfhkeneofwfenctcoofnLcNenatraantidonM, gNLaSLoSnorpMH,gwLSe ostfukdnioewd nthe coinncteenratrcatitoionni,nbautsynsottemconcotanitnaiinnginUgFacriedsionf. kInnopwarnalcloeln,cteonetvraatliuoant,eNhaoLwS tohreMpgHLoSfoaf ksonlouw- n tiocnonncoetnctroantitoanin,ibnugt NnoatLcSonotraiMnignLgSUwF irlelscinh.aInngpe,araanlleelx,ptoereivmaelunattaedhdoiwngthaecipdHtoofdaisstoilluletdion wawntoeatIrstcwcsoohannsotdaucuiolndcnitndebgduecN[nt5eoa6dtL]e.S[d5o6tr]h.aMt gthLeS
There was no significance difference between MOR values for boards bonded with MgLS and NaLS

Summary

Introduction

Particleboards still predominate in the world production of wood-based composites. In 2018, industrial particleboard production reached a record output of 97 million m3 worldwide [1]. Particleboards remain one of the most important value-added panel products in the wood industry and are widely used in various fields of human activity. The cost of resin is about 30–50% of the material costs, whereas the product contains only 2–14% of resin in terms of the amount associated with the dry weight of wood. Even at such low concentrations, the cost of the resin is the main factor significantly affecting the total product price [2]

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Conclusion