The influence of wax-sizing on dimension stability and mechanical properties of bagasse particleboard

Abstract

Bagasse particleboards (BPBs) were made using polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (pMDI) resin as binder and wax emulsion as dimension stabilizer. A factorial experiment was conducted to measure the effects of wax and pMDI resin content on particleboard dimension stability and mechanical properties. The data were compared with respective properties specified in the ANSI A208.1 standard for commercial M3 grade wood-based particleboard. Wax-sizing improved the linear expansion (LE) of the particleboards under both pMDI resin contents used in this research and all LE values were controlled under the critical value of 0.35%. The use of wax significantly reduced 24-h water absorption and thickness swelling compared to the control panels without wax. Wax-sizing at the moderate levels also showed positive influence on long-term water absorption and thickness swelling properties. Wax content levels, however, did not significantly influence water absorption and thickness swelling behavior. Wax-sizing had no evident negative effects on the bending properties of MDI-bonded bagasse particleboards under both resin contents, while it caused slightly negative effect on internal bond strength. Mechanical properties of all boards far exceeded the minimum values specified in ANSI A208.1 standard. The entire properties of the 5% pMDI BPBs were better than those of the 3% pMDI panels as expected.