Efficiency of bark for reduction of formaldehyde emission from particleboards
Bark is much underutilized material. Most of the bark is used as fuel and for landscaping but there are still significant amounts of unused bark, hence creating a problem when disposed. Due to the aspects like colour, shape/size and ratio, and mechanical properties, bark is not a desired constituent for particleboard production. One of the possible uses of bark is related to its chemical compositions, specifically due to the phenolic-like components, bark can be used as formaldehyde scavenger.The aim of the paper is to present the usability of bark as particleboard formaldehyde scavenger. Single-layer particleboard made from wood particles spruce (Picea abies) and pine (Pinus sp.) bark mixture using urea-formaldehyde and melamine-urea formaldehyde as resin were tested for formaldehyde release. The formaldehyde release was determined by the Perforator method (EN 12460-5), gas analysis (EN 12460-3) and Flask method (EN 717-3). The experiment showed that the presence of bark lowers the formaldehyde release.