Some advantages of three-layer medium-density fibreboard as compared to the traditional single-layer one

Abstract

The aim of the study was to develop three-layer medium-density fibreboard (MDF) manufacture by adding the coarse fibres in the middle layer, like three-layer particleboard. The liquid urea–formaldehyde (UF) resin was reduced from 10.5 to 6.5 wt% in the middle layer of the MDFs. The UF resin content was kept constant at 10 wt% in the surface layers of all the MDFs. Moreover, the average density of MDFs was decreased from 730 to 650 kg/m3. The internal bond strength of three-layer MDFs decreased with decreasing UF resin content (10.5 to 8.5 wt%) in the middle layer. However, the decreases in the internal bond strength were statistically not significant. The internal bond strength values of the MDFs having density between 730 and 675 kg/m3 did not show significant differences. The cost savings of the resin were 20% when the amount of resin was reduced from 10.5 to 8.5 wt%. Three-layer MDFs had lower resin consumption at lower densities over traditional single-layer MDFs produced in the same plant with the same material components without decreasing their technological properties. In conclusion, it can be said that three-layer MDF could be produced at a lower cost than traditional single-layer MDF.