Particleboard Production from Paulownia tomentosa (Thunb.) Steud. Grown in Portugal

Abstract

Paulownia wood has raised high attention due to its rapid growth and fire resistance. The number of plantations in Portugal has been growing, and new exploitation methods are needed. This study intends to determine the properties of particleboards made with very young Paulownia trees from Portuguese plantations. Single layer particleboards were produced with 3-year-old Paulownia trees using different processing parameters and different board composition in order to determine the best properties for use in dry environments. The standard particleboard was produced at 180 °C and a 36.3 kg/cm2 pressure for 6 min using 40 g of raw material with 10% urea-formaldehyde resin. Higher particle size lead to lower-density particleboards, while higher resin contents lead to higher density of the boards. Density has a major effect on board properties with higher densities improving mechanical properties such as bending strength, modulus of elasticity (MOE) and internal bond, lower water absorption but higher thickness swelling and thermal conductivity. Particleboards meeting the requirements for dry environment according to NP EN 312 standard, could be produced with young Paulownia wood with acceptable mechanical and thermal conductivity properties with density around 0.65 g/cm3 and a thermal conductivity of 0.115 W/mK.

Effect of the particle geometry on lightweight particleboards from Paulownia using high frequency pressing technology

“…These results are consistent with the ndings of (Esteves et al 2023), where IB for paulownia PB ranged from 0.4 to 0.7 N/mm² at densities under 500 kg/m³, but at a thickness of 8 mm, that is half of the thickness of the boards in the present study. For a paulownia PB with 10 mm thickness, (Nelis et al 2018) determined an IB of 0.8 N/mm², corresponding to a density of 350 kg/m³ and 1.25 N/mm² for 500 kg/m³ density.…”

“…MOE behaviour exhibited the same trend as MOR, namely 200 N/mm² and 5000 N/mm². Esteves et al (2023) observed also that an increased density is directly correlated with a decreased particle size (0.25-4 mm), allegedly due to higher compaction when using ne-grained particles. In the case of All manufactured board variants in this study meet the requirements for bending strengths according to DIN CEN/TS 16368 for type LP1.…”

Properties of oriented strand boards made from two Indonesian bamboo species at different pressure levels and strand lengths

“…The average density of andong-bamboo OSB in this study (0.75 g/cm 3 ) was closely similar to that of moso-bamboo OSB (Sumardi and Suzuki 2014). A previous study reported that density did affect the water absorption of wood-composite products, i.e., particleboard (Esteves et al 2023).…”

“…The bamboo OSB in this study had a higher density than the OSB from a previous study (Oh and Kim 2015). It has been reported that composite boards with higher density absorbed water less than those with lower density (Esteves et al 2023).…”

“Polymers from Renewable Resources”: Key Findings from This Topic Special Issue

“…The obtained samples were investigated in order to understand the mechanism of interaction (crosslinking) between FA and lignin. Esteves and collaborators [ 11 ] studied the properties of particleboards made from very young Paulownia trees from Portuguese plantations. Paulownia wood is easily air dried, without severe drying defects occurring.…”