PARTICLEBOARD

Definition (Maloney, 1993)

A generic term for a panel manufactured from

lignocellulosic materials (usually wood), primarily in the
form of discrete pieces or particles, as distinguished
from fibers, combined with a synthetic resin or other
suitable binder and bonded together under heat and
pressure in a hot press by a process in which the entire
interparticle bond is created by the added binder, and
to which other materials may have been added during
manufacture to improve certain properties

TYPE OF PARTICLE
• Fine sawdust ~ course pulp chips
1. Flakes (Serpih) 5. Granules
2. Shavings (Pasahan) 6. Slivers (Kerat)
3. Chips (Tatal) 7. Strands (Strand)
4. Fibres 8. Excelsior (Wol kayu)

Basic wood elements, from largest to smallest (Marra 1979).

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 Type of Particle Particleboard Industrial Development

1. Shaving a small wood particle of indefinite dimensions produced { PB is a relatively new products
when planing or jointing wood. Variable in thickness and F 1905 - 1937, patents to produce PB were released
often curled. F F 1940’s - 1950’s, plants were built in Europe and US, but without market
2. Flake a small, flat, thin particle of predetermined dimension F by 1960 PB was able to enter new market and industry grew rapidly
produced in specialized equipment. Uniform in thickness, Lack of equipment and the technology of manufacture were the main factors
with fiber orientation parallel to the faces. F responsible for the time lag of the realization of the PB industry.
3. Wafer similar to a flake in shape but larger. Usually over 0.020 in.
During 1970’s research and development about the PB was very fast. The
thick and over 1 in. long. It may have tapered ends. F
annual production rate of PB increased as much as 19% compare to only 8%
4. Chip a piece of wood chopped from a block by a large knife or for plywood.
hammer, as by a pulpwood chipper. Usually reduced to
smaller size before use. F They were widely used because the process enabled wood particles from
relatively useless small and/or low grade timber to be transformed into useful
5. Sawdust produced by a saw cut. F large wooden panels (Kubler 1980).
6. Strand a long flakes (± 30 mm). For production of oriented strand board (OSB) F
{ Different stimulation of PB developments in Europe and US:
7. Sliver nearly square cross section, with length at least four times the thickness.
[Europe] ─> stimulated by lumber shortage.
8. Excelsior (Wood wool) ® long, curly, slender particles. For production of cement board, and as cushioning in [US] ─> stimulate by large quantity of unused softwood residues
packages. F

ADVANTAGES OF PARTICLEBOARD PARTICLEBOARD UTILIZATION

COMPARED TO SOLID WOOD
•Floor underlayment/subfloor
• Free from knot and check •Floor deck
• Size and density can be adjusted •Wall and roof sheathing
• Thickness and density are uniform and •Siding
easy to be manufactured •Stair tread
• More isotropic •Door Shelving
• Quality or surface appearance can be •Furniture
adjusted according to market or costumer
desire

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Particleboard Classification Particleboard Classification
1. Number of layer or particle distribution between face & core
3. Uses or Resin type
homogenous PB
layered PB (3 or 5 layers) Interior PB àType 1 à Urea resin (UF) ® non-structural uses
graduated PB Exterior PB àType-2 à Phenol resin (PF) ® structural uses

4. Manufacturing process (pressing)

Flat Platen pressed PB ® pressed under two-plates
small particles on the surface and larger ones in the core.
Extruded PB ® particles are compressed between 2 fixed platens
F provide adequate strength and good surface smoothness.

2. Board density Properties of Extruded PB

Low-density PB : < 650 kg/m3 ® lower strength, door core Ø particles tend to orient ^ to the
Medium density PB : 650-800 kg/m3 ® better strength plane of panel
High density PB : > 800 kg/m3 ® very strong, too heavy Ø inferior properties (low strength
and dimensional stability)
[Goals] to get as low density as possible but strength as high as possible. Ø suited for producing of special
Reduced density decreases manufacturing and shipping costs and increase the shape boards
ease of handling.

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 RAW MATERIALS FOR PARTICLEBOARD RAW MATERIALS FOR PARTICLEBOARD
MANUFACTURING MANUFACTURING (Continued)

A. Wood B. Adhesive
• Low density wood • Liquid adhesive usually used with solid content of 40-
• Wood waste (wood industry waste, harvesting waste) 65%
• Lesser use species, low quality wood, fast growing • Usually Thermosetting resins, thermoplastic resins
species sometimes used for specified type
• Lignocellulose materials (bagasse, bamboo, rice • Interior (UF/MF/MUF), Exterior (PF)
husks, straws, and other agricultural residues) • Amount of adhesive added depend up on strength of
• Bark wood (≤ 5%) board:
• More than 90% of the raw material is wood with Single layer : 6-10%
the recovery factor about 75-90%. Cost of wood Three layers: SL: 8 – 12 %; CL: 6 – 8%
raw materials is about 10-30% depending on the ≈ based on solid content
location of the industry • Hardwood > Softwood

RAW MATERIALS FOR PARTICLEBOARD

MANUFACTURING (Continued)

C.Additives

To obtain certain properties of particleboard

• Water repellent:
To reduce water absorption and thickness swelling,
cupping, and twisting, added to the glue about 1%
parafin (based on wood particle weight)
• Resistant to fungi and insect:
Fungicide, insecticide (NaPCP, BFCA)
• Fire retandant (phosphates) etc

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 F See illustrative
Manufacturing Step process Manufacturing Step

Raw material (round wood, shavings, chips, sawdust) is separated Forming is the process of depositing furnish into the form of a
Preparation Preparation
on the basis of its form, species and MC. mat.
of Particles of Particles
Roundwood: debarked à cut shorter à cut to particles
Solid wood à chipped à breakdown into particles. Using air as the conveying medium:
Blending Blending The particles are dropped into an air chamber above the
The particle is dried up to 2-5% MC.
cauls or belts and float down into their position.
The particles are screened to remove fine, dust like material F see Mat Former
Mat Forming (fines). Mat Forming
Fines : absorb more resin ® lowering strength Some former can orient the particles (mechanically or
contribute little to the core but weight electrostatically) to get a cross laminated construction as in
plywood
Pressing Blending is the process of adding the adhesive resin Pressing [Mechanical orientation] ® dropping long, slender
and wax to particles particles between thin parallel plates from which they
The amount of resin is 6 – 12% by weight and wax is are then dumped onto the caul.
Finishing about 1% by weight. Wax is added to provide some Finishing [Electrostatic orientation] ® dropping particles between
water repellency. charged plates, and the particles, align themselves with
the electrical field.

Mat formers Manufacturing Step

The press is the most expensive equipment in the plant à
Preparation operating continuously (non stop).
of Particles Pressing type:
• Platen presses
- multi-opening presses The thickness of board is
Blending - large single-opening presses controlled with metal stops
• Continuous roller presses
• Extruded presses
Mat Forming
The pressing level will determine density of PB

Pressing Stacking: [UF resin] boards are cooled stacked

A. Former uses air flow to deposit B. Several forming heads can be used à to avoid bond degradation
finer particles on the face of the mat. in series to produce 3- or 5-layer mat [PF resin] boards are hot stacked
The smaller, lighter particles are à to provide additional cure time
Finishing
carried farther in the air stream. Sanding à clean, smooth surface, thickness control
Trimming à standard size (4’x8’), special size
Overlayingà veneer, printed paper, melamine

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 PARTICLEBOARD PROPERTIES
There are three categories of greener PB and MDF
available on the market:

1. Agricultural Waste Fiber, Formaldehyde-Free:

agricultural residues that would have been burned,
bonded with a formaldehyde-free resin;

2. Post-Consumer Waste Fiber, Formaldehyde-Free:

post-consumer paper waste, bonded with a
formaldehyde-free resin;

3. Recovered Wood Fiber and Formaldehyde-Free:

pre-consumer wood residues, bonded with a
formaldehyde-free resin.

PARTICLEBOARD PROPERTIES PARTICLEBOARD PROPERTIES

(continued)
A. Wood
1. Density C. Process
2. Gluability (wood structure, wettability, 1. Particle MC after drying
extractive) 2. Mixing particle and adhesive
3. Moisture content 3. Pressing (temperature, time, pressure)
4. Particles(type,size, geometri particle)
5. Bark etc D. Additional process
1. Pre-treatment
B. Adhesive 2. Post-treatment (product treatment) i.e.,
(kind, content, type, composition) covering, fumigation, preservation etc

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 Standard Requirement for Particleboard
No Properties Value Unit Note

1 Density 0.40-0.80 g/cm3 FAO 1966 Strength Improvement in layered

2 Moisture content Max 14 % SII 1983 Particleboard
3 Water absorption 24 H 20-75 % FAO 1966
4 Thickness swelling 24 H Max.20 % SII 1983
1. High adhesive content in the faces
5 MOR air-drying Min.9.81 N/mm2 SII 1983
2. Particles with high slenderness
6 MOR 100 C, 2 H Min. 2.94 N/mm2 SKC 1988
ratio in faces
7 MOE air-drying Min. 981 N/mm2 FAO 1966
3. Lower density wood species in faces
8 MOE 100 C, 2H Min. 981 N/mm2 SKC 1988
4. Higher surface densification
9 IB air-drying Min.0.589 N/mm2 SII 1983
5. Orientation of surface particles
10 IB 100 C, 2H Min.0.0177 N/mm2 SKC 1988

11 Screw holding power⁄⁄ Min.245 Newton SII 1983

12 Screw holding power Min 392 Newton SII 1983

Environmental Impact
• A portion of the trees cut for lumber and plywood production
become sawdust and trimmings that are used in PB and MDF. If
trees are harvested for direct use in these products, then the
impacts from growing and harvesting these trees must be
considered as part of the environmental profile of PB and MDF.

• Information obtained from industry sources shows that

approximately 25% of the production capacity in the U.S. and
Canada uses some virgin wood in their products, ranging from 1
to 80% virgin content, averaging 34%.

• The wood residues are either ground into particles (for PB) or
steam heated to break down the residues into fibers (for MDF),
then dried to lower moisture content. Many dryers are directly
heated by combustion of a portion of the wood residues; others
are heated by burning oil or natural gas.

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 • The type of resin used to bind the wood fibers
determines the type of air emissions released during
• Dryers release wood dust, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, fly ash, volatile organic compounds—such as the pressing process; typically these emissions
terpenes, resin, and fatty acids— that evaporate from the include formaldehyde compounds, such as urea
wood, and combustion and pyrolysis products, such as formaldehyde.
methanol, acetic acid, ethanol, formaldehyde, and furfural.
• When used in the home in furniture, subflooring, or
• After the fiber is dried, it is blended with wax, a synthetic
resin such as urea formaldehyde, and other additives and stair treads, PB and MDF made with formaldehyde-
formed into mats. The mats are processed in large presses based resins continue to release small amounts of
that use heat and pressure to cure the resin and form the formaldehyde gas. Producers have generally met
product into sheets or boards. Presses are usually heated by industry standards and have reduced formaldehyde
steam, which is generated by a boiler that burns wood
emissions from PB an average of 80 percent below
residues.
1980 levels, primarily by reducing the ratio of
formaldehyde to urea in resin formulations

SOLVING
PROBLEM
A. Wood = 100/108 x 100 tons = 92.59 tons
You are asked to produce 100 tons of particleboard with Recovery factor = 100/80 x 92.59 tons= 115.74 tons
density of 0.65 g/cm 3 by using the sengon wood with
specific gravity of 0.5 and recovery factor of 80%. Liquid
Volume = 115.74 tons/0.5 = 231.48 m3
UF adhesive (RC50%) was used in amount of 8%. How
much:
1. Vol. of wood is required? B. Adhesive = 8/108 x 100 tons = 7.41 tons
2. The amount of adhesive should be prepared? Liquid adhesive = 7.41/0.5 = 14.81 tons
3. The compression ratio of the board?
4. Container volume is needed for handling the
particleboards? C. Compression ration = 0.65/0.5 = 1.3

D. Container volume = 100 tons/0.65 = 153.85 m3

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 SOLVING
PROBLEM
OD boards B = ρ.V
You are asked to produce 1 piece of particleboard = 0. 60 g/cm3 x (340 x 340 x 10) mm3 = 693.6 g
size (340 mm x 340 mm x 10 mm) with density of
0.60 g/cm3 by using the Afrika wood flakes Afrika wood particles (MC 5%)
particles (MC 5%). Liquid UF adhesive (RC65%) was = (100/110 x 693.6 g) x 105/100 = 662.07 g
used in amount of 10%. How much:
1. Afrika wood flakes particle is required? UF Adhesive (RC 65%)
2. The amount of adhesive should be prepared? = (10/110 x 693.6 g) x 100/65 = 97.01 g

Thank You