Application of formaldehyde-free particleboard in customized home furnishings

Introduction: By comparing with ordinary particleboard, this article introduces the performance advantages, processing technology, production cost and application cases of formaldehyde-free particleboard in customized home production.

Customized home furnishings, thanks to their personalized customization and maximized interior space utilization, have gained widespread popularity among consumers, and the entire industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Particleboard, due to its uniform structure, excellent processing performance, and high cost-effectiveness, is widely used in the production and manufacturing of customized home furnishings.

Market feedback indicates that commonly used urea-formaldehyde particleboard in custom home furnishings has the following drawbacks: 1) Even if formaldehyde emissions meet national standards, the indoor load-bearing capacity is still limited; 2) Non-moisture-resistant particleboard cannot be used to manufacture furniture exposed to high humidity, such as balcony cabinets and bathroom vanities; 3) Non-load-bearing particleboard cannot be used to create furniture components with high load-bearing requirements. Therefore, Sofia, in collaboration with particleboard manufacturers, has pioneered the use of formaldehyde-free particleboard in custom home furnishings and has achieved large-scale production.

This article takes formaldehyde-free particleboard produced with isocyanate (MDI) glue as an example. By comparing it with ordinary particleboard, it introduces the obvious performance advantages, good processing technology, higher production costs and successful application cases of formaldehyde-free particleboard in customized home production applications.

1 Performance of formaldehyde-free particleboard

Formaldehyde-free particleboard offers significant performance advantages over conventional E0 and E1 particleboard: no formaldehyde is added during production, and moisture resistance and mechanical properties are significantly improved. Formaldehyde-free particleboard produced with MDI adhesive and E0 particleboard produced with conventional melamine-modified urea-formaldehyde adhesive from three different manufacturers (Manufacturer 1, Manufacturer 2, and Manufacturer 3), all measuring 2440 mm × 1220 mm × 18 mm, were compared across various performance tests.

1.1 Formaldehyde emission

According to the 1 m³ climate chamber method specified in GB18580-2017 "Limits of formaldehyde emission from artificial boards and their products for interior decoration and renovation materials", a comparative test of formaldehyde emission was conducted. The test results are shown in Table 1.

As shown in Table 1, the formaldehyde-free particleboard from the three manufacturers tested had a maximum of 0.02 mg/m³ and a minimum of no detectable levels. This is significantly lower than the national standard GB 18580-2017, which stipulates 0.124 mg/m³. It also offers significant advantages over the more environmentally friendly E0 substrates currently available on the market. Using formaldehyde-free particleboard to produce customized home furnishings can significantly increase the load-bearing capacity of interior home furnishings, meeting the high-load demands of specialized customers.

1.2 The water absorption thickness expansion rate index has obvious advantages

According to the performance requirements of furniture-type particleboard (P2) used in a dry state in the standard GB/T 4897-2015 "Particleboard", the water absorption thickness expansion rate test was carried out. At the same time, a group of tests with an immersion time of 24 hours were added for comparative testing. The test results are shown in Table 2.

As shown in Table 2, the test results for formaldehyde-free particleboard from all three manufacturers were lower than those for E0 substrates. The 24-hour immersion results for formaldehyde-free particleboard were particularly noticeable, showing a clear advantage over E0. The use of formaldehyde-free particleboard will significantly improve the moisture resistance of customized home furnishing products.

1.3 Obvious advantages in mechanical performance indicators

According to the mechanical property requirements of furniture-type particleboard (P2) used in a dry state in GB/T 4897-2015, the mechanical properties of formaldehyde-free particleboard and E0 particleboard were compared and tested. The test results are shown in Table 3.

As shown in Table 3, the four mechanical property test results of the MDI formaldehyde-free particleboards from the three manufacturers are all better than those of the E0 particleboards, and are much higher than the national standards. This is expected to expand the application scope of particleboards in customized home products and avoid quality problems such as product deformation caused by insufficient strength during use of particleboard customized home products.

2 Processing technology of formaldehyde-free particleboard

Due to its relatively loose internal structure, particleboard cannot be shaped like fiberboard. Therefore, in custom home furnishings, it is generally used only as a direct surface finish. Finishing methods include melamine-impregnated paper, flat hot pressing, lamination of PVC film, decorative veneer, and leather, spray painting, and edge banding using EVA, PUR, or lasers. Therefore, the processing techniques involved in particleboard's use in custom home furnishings primarily include cutting, hot pressing, flat lamination, edge banding, and punching.

The same processing techniques used to produce custom furniture using standard E0 particleboard and MDI formaldehyde-free particleboard have been successfully scaled up, and no specific adjustments to the process parameters for MDI formaldehyde-free particleboard have been found. Therefore, formaldehyde-free particleboard is the same as standard E0 particleboard.

3 Cost Analysis of Formaldehyde-Free Particleboard

The cost of MDI formaldehyde-free particleboard for producing customized home products is nearly 50% higher than that of E0 particleboard. The main reasons for the increase in production cost of MDI formaldehyde-free particleboard are as follows:

1) Low production efficiency. The production processes of ordinary E0 particleboard and MDI formaldehyde-free particleboard are very different due to the different adhesives used. When using urea-formaldehyde adhesive to produce E0 particleboard, the hot pressing factor used is (4-6) s/mm, depending on the conditions of different manufacturers. When using MDI adhesive to produce formaldehyde-free particleboard, due to the slow curing speed of MDI adhesive, the hot pressing factor used by manufacturers is (5-8) s/mm, which reduces production efficiency by 20%-30% [1].

2) High raw material prices. According to particleboard manufacturers, the raw material costs for producing formaldehyde-free particleboard with MDI glue are more than double those for producing particleboard with urea-formaldehyde glue. Taking adhesive prices as an example, in March 2019, the cost of producing one cubic meter of particleboard was approximately 435 yuan for MDI glue and 200.17 yuan for urea-formaldehyde glue. The cost of adhesive alone was 117% higher.

3) The production process control of MDI formaldehyde-free particleboard is more difficult than that of urea-formaldehyde particleboard, resulting in increased labor costs and equipment losses (spare parts consumption) increased by 10% to 20%.

4 Application of formaldehyde-free particleboard

For example, Sofia, a leading company in the custom home furnishing industry, has successfully applied formaldehyde-free particleboard substrates to custom home furnishing products and achieved large-scale production. The following are examples of Sofia's application of formaldehyde-free substrates in custom home furnishing production: Figure 1 shows the play area project in the Pediatric Hematology Department of Wuhan Union Hospital; Figure 2 shows classrooms at Tongbu Boarding Primary School in Linxi County, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; and Figure 3 shows student dormitories at Al-Jadah International Preparatory School.

5 Conclusion

As the times change, consumers are increasingly placing greater emphasis on product quality and safety. The "formaldehyde-free" nature of formaldehyde-free substrates not only responds to market demand but also reflects the industry's technological innovation. It is recommended that the industry work together to vigorously promote the use of formaldehyde-free substrates, jointly promote the improvement of production technology, process maturity, and cost reduction, and widely apply formaldehyde-free substrates to the production of customized home furnishings to meet the needs of an increasing number of consumers, meet the needs of an increasing number of specific venues, and meet the needs of a growing number of professional institutions such as medical and child health institutions.

Authors: Lin Qiulan, Li Xinbing, Zhang Ting

Unit: Sofia Home Furnishing Co., Ltd.

Source: China Wood-Based Panels, Issue 5, 2019