Particleboard formaldehyde emission

Only a small amount of work has been done up to now concerning the prediction of bond strengths and other properties based on the results of the analysis of the resin. Ferg et al. [59] worked out correlation equations evaluating the chemical structures in various UF-resins with different F/U molar ratios and different types of preparation on the one hand and the achievable internal bond as well as the subsequent formaldehyde emission on the other hand. These equations are valid only for well defined series of resins. The basic aim of such experiments is the prediction of the properties of the wood-based panels based on the composition and the properties of the resins used. For this purpose various structural components are determined by means of - C NMR and their ratios related to board results. Various papers in the chemical literature describe examples of such correlations, in particular for UF, MF, MUF and PF resins [59-62]. For example one type of equation correlating the dry internal bond (IB) strength (tensile strength perpendicular to the plane of the panel) of a particleboard bonded with PF adhesive resins is as follows [17]... 

Leovic (1996) reported that the combined emissions of VOCs as ketones, ethers and aldehydes were generally much in excess of formaldehyde emissions for veneered particleboards. Koontz and Hoag (1995) had a similar folding for unfinished and veneered particleboard and MDF. They idenhfied the major VOCs... 

Brown (1999b) reported formaldehyde and VOC emissions from new, unfinished particleboard and MDF (both using urea formaldehyde resins) in Ausbalia. Formaldehyde emissions over the first three weeks exhibited first-order decay behavior that predicted little to no formaldehyde emission after 6 months. However, further emission measurements at 8 months showed the products sbll emitted formaldehyde at approximately one-half the new product rate (also further unpublished measurement at 2 years showed the same emission rate as at 8 months). It was concluded that the wood-based panels emitted formaldehyde by a double-exponen-ttal model, the early- to late-term emissions including the free formaldehyde in the products but the long-term emissions consisbng of only the formaldehyde... 

Lower formaldehyde emissions were found for the plywoods (all exterior grades) than for particleboard and MDF, but organic acid emissions still occurred, especially for the hardwood-based plywood (black butt) since such woods are... 

Formaldehyde emission JIS A 5908 Particleboards 5.9 Formaldehyde emission test... 

Zinn TW, Cline D, Lehmann WF. 1990. Long-term study of formaldehyde emission decay from particleboard. For Prod J 40 15-18. 

Particleboard and other products made with isocyanates emit only little formaldehyde (IJ, but these adhesives are expensive and require expensive manufacturing procedures. In contrast, phenolic soft wood plywood is a well established product that is predominantly used for exter i or appIi cat i ons. It conta i ns forma Idehyde i n chemically strongly bonded form and also emits little formaldehyde, as shown in a later chapter in this book. In fact, under almost all common use conditions this type of board contributes not much more formaldehyde than is already present in ambient air in many urban areas. The same is true for waferboard, which has recently become popular for replacing plywood. Likewise, phenolic particleboard emits little forma Idehyde, unIess the phenoIi c res in is bIended w i th UFR. Normally, the products with highest potential for formaldehyde emission are those bonded with UFR. During the past year, approximately 300,000 metric tons of UFR have been used for panel manufacturing in the U.S. 

The curing conditions are equally important for reducing formaldehyde emission. The curing process is not yet fully understood. In fact, there is even still some question about the nature of the reactive resin. The latter subject is described in a later chapter by Johns. Appropriate resin cure conditions must take into account the wood moisture content and wood acidity, as well as resin concentration, temperature gradients, and press duration. In excessively cured UF bonded wood products, and in products that are stacked while still hot from the press, UFR can hydrolyse so strongly that particleboard loses internal bond strength. 

When particleboard was first introduced, the risk of consumer exposure to formaldehyde emission was comparatively small as long as only moderate quantities of products were used in consumer applications. This situation changed when particleboard became popular and when its production reached millions of tons per year. This popularity caused different types of formaIdehydic products, such a wall panelling, flooring, tables, cabinet work and furniture to accumulate in homes and offices, yielding load ratios of I m of product surface area per 1 m indoor air space. 

Product tests. Clearly, the best product test is full-scale testing of finished panels under actual use conditions. This has been done (27,38) but is expensive, because several full-sized panels of each product must be pre-conditioned at constant temperature and humidity for at least a week. The next best approach is to test product samples in air chambers under standardized conditions. A summary of such methods is contained in Table I. A very large effort has been made over the last three decades world-wide to develop quick, reliable and meaningful product tests. Wittmann (16), Zartl (20), Plath (17), Verbestel (1, Neusser (21,22), Roffael (25), HUD, the U.S. Forest Products Industry (39,40), many standaraization organizations (41-43) and others have published many viable methods, but the testing involves a combination of complex factors and there is simply no single test that fulfills everybody s specific needs. Table I list some of the currently accepted test methods for formaldehyde emission from particleboard, plywood and medium density fiberboard. 

Large Scale Test Method for Determining Formaldehyde Emission from Wood Products Air Chamber Method, FTM-2" National Particleboard Assocaiton, Hardwood Plywood Association, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Register, 1982, 48, 37169. 

Particleboard-Determination of Formaldehyde Emission under Specified Conditions Method Called Formaldehyde Emission Method," European Standard Situation Report EN-N76E-1983, European Committee for Standardization, Brussels, 1983... 

National Particleboard Association, Hardwood Plywood Manufacturers Association, October 10, 1983. Large scale test method for determining formaldehyde emissions from wood products, large chamber method, FTM 2, Reston, VA. 

G. Gramp, W. Groah. "Evaluation of the relationship between formaldehyde emission from particleboard mobile home decking and hardwood plywood wall paneling as determined by product test methods and formaldehyde levels in experimental mobile homes." U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, 1982. 

Although formaldehyde emissions from some products glued with urea formaldehyde adhesives can cause indoor air quality problems under certain conditions, such problems have not been associated with phenol formaldehyde-bonded (phenolic) products. Unfortunately, however the commonplace usage of the generic terms particleboard and plywood has failed to distinguish between product types and has led to a great deal of confusion among consumers. 

Roffael (15) measured formaldehyde emissions from a phenolic particleboard using the WKI-Method which involves suspending small samples over 50 cm of distilled water in tightly closed polyethylene bottles and measuring formaldehyde levels in the water after varying times. Temperatures were maintained at 42 C. This work indicated that formaldehyde release from the phenolic particleboards ceased after a relatively short reaction period (approximately 96 hours). This finding is consistent with the resin stability considerations discussed previously under theoretical considerations. 

Large-Scale Test Method For Determining Formaldehyde Emissions From Wood Products — Large Chamber Method, FTM 2-1983 National Particleboard Association Gaithersburg, MD, 1983. 

To shed additional light on the emission mechanism and the contribution of resin hydrolysis to formaldehyde emission, my recent experiments have examined the liberation or extraction of formaldehyde from particleboards, from wood containing sorbed formaldehyde, and from cured resins. Here, I present results from particleboard and formaldehyde-sorbed wood experiments in which rates of formaldehyde removal were measured by three different procedures (see Appendix 1 for experimental details). 

Figure 9 illustrates the effect of veneering on formaldehyde emission of particleboard. For the veneering the same type of resin was used as in the production of the particleboard. Pressing conditions are not comparable. Veneering has increased the equilibrium value a little, from 0.48 to 0.56 mg/m. The mass transfer coefficient however, decreased very much. The mass transfer resistance shows an increase from 2,400 sec/m to 11,000 sec/m. In the case at issue, the formaldehyde concentration, at a loading factor of 1 m /m of the veneered particleboard, is below that of the bare particleboard, only at a ventilation rate in excess of 0.2 per hour. 

After a few hours of circulating, different steady state concentrations are in fact found in the two burettes. In other words, one particleboard continually absorbs formaldehyde from the other. In this case particleboard 1 absorbs formaldehyde from particleboard 2. Table VIII shows the formaldehyde emission parameters of the two boards. Especially the equilibrium values are different, the mass transfer coefficients do not differ much. 

The U.S.Department for Housing and Urban Development s rule 3280.308 established formaldehyde emission standards for particleboard and hardwood plywood paneling used in mobile homes. These standards took effect February 11, 1985. The certification program under this rule requires each manufacturer to develop a quality control in-plant testing program that relates to tests conducted in a large scale environmental chamber. 

Determining Formaldehyde Emission from Wood Products" FTM-2 - 1983 (16). In this method, particleboard and hardwood plywood paneling are tested under the following conditions ... 

Newton, L. "Formaldehyde Emissions from Wood Products Correlating Environmental Chamber Levels to Secondary Laboratory Tests" International Particleboard Symposium No. 16 Washington State University, Pullman, 1982. 

Singh Walcott, J. St. Pierre, C. Ferrel, T. Garrison, S. Groah, w. "Evaluation of the Relationship Between Formaldehyde Emissions from Particleboard Mobile Home Decking and Hardwood Plywood Wall Paneling Determined by Product Test Methods and Formaldehyde Levels in Experimental Mobile Homes" Clayton Environmental Consultants, Inc., Report, Prepared on Contract No. AC-5222, H.U.D., March, 1982. 

Formaldehyde emission from particleboard has been studied at our laboratory for over 15 years. We search for an answer to the following question Given the fact that amino-resin bonded wood products have the ability to release formaldehyde into indoor air when they are in use, what simple and rapid analysis method can be used at the time of manufacture to predict formaldehyde release under use conditions as quantitatively as possible Obviously, the chosen method needs to be applicable for all types of boards that are available on the market. 

At this point of the study it is not possible to improve our knowledge of the emission trends with this method. However, given that the formaldehyde emission from a particleboard must decrease with time, we decided to measure this effect. Two sets of experiments were carried out parallel to each other for one year at 23 L and 65% RH, 80% RH, or 30% RH. The boards were tested at regular intervals by both the perforator method and the gas flow... 

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