Phenol Formaldehyde Resin for Hydrophilic Cellulose Paper

Abstract

Phenol formaldehyde resin is a thermosetting plastic which has been used for various applications. The important factor of its versatile use is its thermal stability, resistance to chemical attack and water resistance—which protect it from micro-organism attacks. The hydrophobic nature of phenol formaldehyde makes Kraft paper waterproof upon drying. This property decreases the cooling efficiency of cooling pads. Therefore, it is required to make phenol formaldehyde resin unaffected by the hydrophilic nature of paper. In the present work, phenol formaldehyde is being used to impregnate Kraft paper to make evaporative cooling pads. For this purpose, phenolic resin was synthesized with inorganic additives, at specific ratios and degree of polymerization, which allowed the paper to absorb water when it was impregnated with diluted resin. During the drying process, by evaporation of some volatile elements in phenolic resin, pores are created in the paper which allows it to absorb water. Solid contents of the synthesized samples were also determined. The coating on paper was examined after different time intervals to observe the solubility of the coated resin in water, which ensures the long-term protection of pads from microorganism attacks.