Particleboards with waste wood from reforestation

This paper examined the potential of manufacturing bonded particleboards using timber industry waste of Pinus spp. Panels were evaluated with 0.6 and 0.8 g cm-3 of density and produced with urea-formaldehyde resin and bi-component polyurethane resin based on castor oil. Panels were made of particles with nominal dimensions 40 x40 cm and a thickness of1 cm. As process parameters was adopted 2 - 5% moisture content, temperature ranging from 90 to130°C, average pressure of 5.0 MPa and resin content from 10 to 15% of the weight particles. This study determined physical-mechanical properties of the panels, following the recommendations of ABNT (2006) NBR 14810. The results indicated statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) in physical and mechanical properties of the panels studied. Panels were classified by ANSI (1993) A208.1 – Mat-formed wood particleboard: Specification, as of low and medium density. Scanning electron microscopy images (SEM) illustrated the agglomeration of particles for the different resins. The polyurethane resin based on castor oil stood out as a viable alternative in the production of particleboards with timber waste.