Fumed silica as a filler for MUPF resin in the process of manufacturing water-resistant plywood

This work examines the effect of applying fumed silica with nanoscopic-size particles as a filling material for melamine-urea-phenol-formaldehyde (MUPF) resin in the process of manufacturing water-resistant plywood. Moreover, this paper investigates the possibility of reducing the amount of MUPF resin mixture used in the process of gluing veneer sheets. Based on the investigations into the reactivity, viscosity and durability of MUPF resin mixture containing various amounts of nanofiller, it was found that the optimum amount of silica that can make the resin suitable for gluing sheets of veneer amounts to 2 PBW per 100 PBW of MUPF resin. The gluing properties for thus mixed resin were determined by measuring the contact angle and determining the parameters of its derivatives, which are an additional criterion for evaluating the gluing properties. The thermal stability was tested with simultaneous use of TG–DSC analysis. The experimental plywood manufactured using optimal nano-SiO₂ was tested in terms of bond quality and mechanical properties according to appropriate standards. The investigations prove that it is possible to apply fumed silica as a filling material for the resin in the process of manufacturing water-resistant plywood. Introducing the above-mentioned amount of fumed silica into the resin makes it possible to increase the activation energy of the cross-linking process of MUPF resin and to optimize the process of gluing the sheets of veneer. Moreover, it is also possible to produce plywood of the required water-resistance with the amount of adhesive mixture reduced by 30 %.