Urea-formaldehyde emission

The primary adhesive used ia hardwood plywood is urea—formaldehyde (UF) mixed with wheat flour as an extender to improve spreadabiUty, reduce penetration, and provide dry-out resistance. A catalyst may also be added to UF resias to speed the cure or to cause the UF to cure. Scavengers also may be added to reduce formaldehyde emissions from finished panels. If more water-resistance is requited using a UF bond, small amounts of melamine maybe added, producing a melamine—urea—formaldehyde (MUF) adhesive. 

Urea—formaldehyde use has been greatly restricted because of free formaldehyde (qv) emissions which can cause eye irritation and in some cases serious illness. Some attempts at developing formaldehyde-free urea-based materials are ongoing. 

Wood Bonding. This appHcation requires large volumes of phenoHc resins (5—25% by weight) for plywood, particle board, waferboard, and fiberboard. Initially, phenoHc resins were used mainly for exterior appHcations, whereas urea—formaldehyde (UF) was used for interiors. However, the concern over formaldehyde emission has caused the replacement of UF by phenol-formaldehyde adhesives. 

Even though UF adducts are known to be present in OSB, formaldehyde emissions are not elevated over those expected of an unmodified PF. There are three reasons for this. First, the molar ratio of formaldehyde-to-urea in these situations is very low. It is at least an order of magnitude lower than practical molar ratios for curable UF resin binders. Second, UF adducts are quite stable under the alkaline conditions that prevail in PF-bonded OSB. Finally, the urea only reacts with the formaldehyde that was left behind during polymerization and would have been largely emitted in pressing and cool-down. Urea additions have been shown to reduce PF formaldehyde emissions from hot pressing [121 ]. 

Despite the fact that the two main components of UF-resins are urea and formaldehyde, a broad variety of possible reactions and structures in the resins can be obtained. At the molecular level, the basic characteristics of UF-resins can be explained as follows (1) high reactivity (2) water solubility and dispersibility, which renders the resins ideal for use in the woodworking industry and (3) the reversibility of the aminomethylene link, which also explains the low resistance of the UF-resins against the influence of water and moisture, especially at higher temperatures. This is also one of the reasons for the subsequent formaldehyde emission. 

It is important to realize that a thermosetting polymer reacted to high (but not full) conversion contains a small fraction of free monomers if the monomers are volatile, their emissions may produce forbidden contamination levels, particularly for indoor applications. The decline in the use of urea-formaldehyde resins in agglomerated wood panels resulted from contamination problems associated with formaldehyde emission. 

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... 

Another problem of a seemingly unrelated nature is the formaldehyde emission from building boards that are currently manufactured using urea-formaldehyde adhesive resins. Formaldehyde has been implicated as a carcinogen and can also cause severe upper respiratory problems and contact dermatitis in some individuals (3-5). 

CO2 emissions from the amonia production are generated during the synthesis gas preparation. In past more than 50% of generated CO2 had been used to prepare the urea. The urea was then used in production of industrial fertilisers and production of urea formaldehyde polycondensates. Research of its application in the No reduction from the flue gases and... 

Hardwood plywood products are decorative in nature and are designed for interior use. Over 95X of all hardwood plywood is made with urea-formaldehyde adhesives. Responding to concerns about formaldehyde and certain wood products, test methods for measuring surface emissions were developed in the early 1980 s. Emissions from most hardwood plywood and particleboard products have decreased 65% to 95% in recent years primarily by use of low emitting UF adhesives and/or scavengers. Good correlation has been demonstrated between product test methods and indoor levels of formaldehyde in experimental manufactured homes. Decorative surface finishes can act to either increase or decrease surface emissions, depending on the nature of the finish and the substrate. 

Lines of demarcation between hardwood plywood, softwood plywood and certain other wood based panel products have become less distinct in recent years. One of the most important distinctions in respect to formaldehyde emission potential is that softwood plywood is typically bonded with phenol-formaldehyde while hardwood plywood is typically bonded with urea-formaldehyde. Phenol-formaldehyde adhesives are more stable and have less tendency to emit formaldehyde than do urea-formaldehyde adhesives. Some important features of hardwood plywood ... 

Reduction in the emission characteristics of unfinished hardwood plywood is currently being achieved primarily by the use of low formaldehyde to urea molar ratio formulations. For the manufacture of hardwood plywood and particleboard, formaldehyde to urea molar ratios have been reduced to a range of 1.15/1 to 1.3/1. An important caveat low F/U ratios perhaps should be considered a proxy for the potential to reduce emissions through improved urea-formaldehyde adhesive technology rather than the exclusive means for improvement. Reducing the F/U ratio is not always the most effective way of reducing emissions in consideration of the variety of hardwood plywood constructions, products, and thicknesses. ... 

It would appear that the wall paneling industry, on average, has probably been able to achieve a 70% to 95% reduction in formaldehyde emissions and still maintain the use of urea-formaldehyde adhesives. 

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. 

The overall objective of this and a companion paper (22) is to define the extent to which board formaldehyde emission is controlled by resin hydrolysis or other processes. In the companion paper I have critically reviewed the literature and presented original Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) data in three related aspects of the formaldehyde emission phenomenon the chemistry of and formaldehyde liberation from formaldehyde-urea and formaldehyde-phenol states the chemistry of and formaldehyde liberation from formaldehyde-cellulose and resin-cellulose states and our knowledge of the board emission mechanism derived from actual board and wood systems. Whereas my oral presentation at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Symposium made use of information from all three of those parts, this written paper, in the interest of saving space, is limited to literature and FPL data dealing with actual wood-containing systems. The Conclusions section of this paper, however, makes use of the results from all three parts of the companion paper. Experimental details of the... 

During the past decade, urea formaldehyde and phenol formaldehyde resin binders have contributed greatly to the progress of wood industries. Formaldehyde is widely used as a major component in the production of building materials, such as particleboard and plywood, and in urea formaldehyde foam insulation. However, the emissions of formaldehyde from these products create considerable concerns not only in the working environments but also in residences, mobile homes, and office buildings. These concerns have also been stimulated by reports on the health effects and carcinogenicity associated with formaldehyde exposure. 

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