Characterization of particleboards produced with Pinus spp. waste

Abstract

The use of waste is essential to minimize environmental impacts; in the case of logging companies, these are in the main source of waste generation from timber processing. Wood based panels are a possibility of using these wastes and recent studies have been developed to obtain the best quality of those products. This research aimed to produce and evaluate medium density particleboard (MDP) manufactured with Pinus spp. wood residues (wood veneers and processed wood) and urea formaldehyde resin as adhesive. The physical and mechanical properties of the panels, as well as quality requirements were obtained according to the Brazilian standard ABNT (2006). The physical properties studied were density, moisture content, thickness swelling and water absorption after two hours, and the mechanical properties evaluated were internal bonding, modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR). Three treatments according to the source of the material were used; in the first treatment, the panels were produced with wood veneers residues, in the second treatment large dimensional residues from sawmill (processed wood) were used; and in the third treatment both residues were used. The first treatment presented low variation in the results (more homogeneous material), while the last treatment yielded the best results, with a higher density, low absorption of water and higher values for internal bonding, MOE and MOR.