Isocyanate adhesives, wood panels

EPI, Emulsion Polymer Isocyanate, MDI, pMDI, wood adhesives, solid wood panel, parquet, window frame, furniture, plywood, finger joint, glulam beam, I-betim, cross-laminated timber... 

The main natural resins used as wood panel binders are vegetal tannin adhesives, lignin adhesives and more recently also soy protein adhesives [1]. Of these, tannin-based adhesives have been used commercially the longest, since 1971. They offer the advantage over the other two types of not needing any reinforcement with an oil-derived synthetic resin [1]. Lignin [2-5] and soy binders [1, 6-8], however, still require between 20% and 40% of the total resin to be either phenol-formaldehyde or most often PMDI (polymeric isocyanate) to satisfy the requirements of relevant board standards. 

Both the wood-based panel industry and the adhesive industry show a high commitment to and great capability towards innovation. The best evidence for this is the considerable diversity of types of adhesives used for the production of wood-based panels. Well-known basic chemicals have been used for a long time for the production of the adhesives and their resins, the most important ones being formaldehyde, urea, melamine, phenol, resorcinol and isocyanate. The greater portion of the currently used adhesive resins and adhesives for wood-based panels is produced with these few raw materials. The how to cook the resins and the how to formulate the adhesive become more and more complicated and sophisticated and are key factors to meet today s requirements of the wood-based panel industry. 

Adhesives based on isocyanate (especially PMDl, polymethylene diisocyanate, more exactly polymeric 4,4 -diphenylmethane diisocyanate) have been used for more than 25 years in the wood-based panel industry [88], but still have a low market value in the wood-working industry compared to systems based on UF-, MUF- or PF-resins. The main application is the production of waterproof panels, but also the production of panels from raw materials that are difficult to glue, like straw, bagasse, rice shells or sugar cane bagasse. They can be used as adhesives for wood-based products like particleboard, oriented strandboard (OSB), laminated strand lumber (LSL), medium-density fiberboard (MDF) or... 

For the production of wood-based panels various adhesives are in use like aminoplastic resins (UF, MU(P)F), phenolic resins (PF) or isocyanate (PMDI). The proper choice of the adhesive depends on the required properties of the wood-based panels, on the working conditions during the production as well as often on the costs for the adhesive system this not only means the net price of the adhesive but the overall costs of the gluing system including glue spread factor. 

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. 

In present-day high-speed assembly line operations, adhesives are applied robotically. The adhesive bead is apphed quickly and evenly to parts on a conveyor line just prior to being fitted. These operations, especially the need to handle the adhered substrates soon after assembly, demand fast-curing adhesive systems [65]. Two-component adhesives are used to bond metals to plastics in automobiles, to laminate panels in the construction industry, to laminate foams to textiles, to laminate plastic films together, and to bond poly(vinyhdene chloride) films to wood for furniture. A commercial waterborne two-component adhesive is sold by Ashland under the trademark ISOSET. This system is used for exterior sandwich panels by recreational vehicle manufacturers and is composed of a water-emulsiliable isocyanate and a hydroxy-functionalized emulsion latex. 

For the production of wood-based panels various adhesives are in use, including aminoplastic resins (UF, MUF, MUPF), phenolic resins (PF), and isocyanate (PMDI). 

Chapter 5 Thermosetting formaldehyde based adhesives, by Dr A. Pizzi, a detailed study of UF, PF, RF and MF adhesives and glues, their chemistry and their uses in woodworking, panels and furniture (this chapter will be followed in later volumes by a chapter on Wood Based Panels and a chapter on Isocyanate Based Adhesives ). 

Alkali treated (mercerized) pine needle furnishes bonded with isocyanate prepolymer can be effectively used as panel products for wood substitute in buildings applications, mainly under wet conditions when a good bonding with resin adhesive is required (Gupta et al. 2010). 

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