Effect of pine (Pinus sylvestris) bark dust on particleboard thickness swelling and internal bond

Abstract

Increasing demand for wood resulted in competition between different branches of wood-based production. High intensity production, like the production of wood-based panels, is forced to look for other lingo-cellulosic resources. Bark is a possible source for wood-based panel industry, especially for particleboards. Bark chips were crushed into bark dust, which were used for the production of single-layer particleboards. The share of bark dust was 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 5% and 10%. The boards were tested on thickness swelling (immersion in water, exposure to humid conditions) and internal bond. The highest internal bond was determined in the particleboard with 1% bark share. Thickness swelling of boards with added bark was higher compared to boards without bark. The highest swelling was observed in boards with 10% bark dust (immersion in water) or 5% (humid conditions). Bark based boards absorbed less water.