Straw based particleboard bonded with composite adhesives

Abstract

Environmentally friendly particleboard was prepared with wheat straw, an inexpensive material. The particleboard was produced by a mixing process, using a composite adhesive comprised of urea-formaldehyde (UF) adhesives and EPU. The performance of the board was evaluated by measuring internal bonding strength (IB), thickness swelling, modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), and formaldehyde emission. The experimental results showed that maximum of dry and wet internal bonding strength, modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity were 0.45MPa, 0.18MPa, 31.80MPa, and 5043MPa, respectively. The thickness swelling (TS2h) and thickness swelling (TS24h) were 3.9% and 10.7%, respectively. The composite adhesives and particleboards were measured by differential scanning calorimentry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements. The results indicated that the composite adhesive of UF/EPU could contribute to excellent mechanical, thermal, and water-resistant properties of the wheat straw particleboards.