Wood Material Science & Engineering

ISSN: 1748-0272 (Print) 1748-0280 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/swoo20

Adhesive systems used in the European

particleboard, MDF and OSB industries

George I. Mantanis, Eleftheria Th. Athanassiadou, Marius C. Barbu & Kris

Wijnendaele

To cite this article: George I. Mantanis, Eleftheria Th. Athanassiadou, Marius C. Barbu & Kris
Wijnendaele (2017): Adhesive systems used in the European particleboard, MDF and OSB
industries, Wood Material Science & Engineering

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17480272.2017.1396622

Published online: 09 Nov 2017.

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 WOOD MATERIAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING, 2017
https://doi.org/10.1080/17480272.2017.1396622

REVIEW ARTICLE

Adhesive systems used in the European particleboard, MDF and OSB industries*
George I. Mantanisa, Eleftheria Th. Athanassiadoub, Marius C. Barbuc and Kris Wijnendaeled
a
Research Lab of Wood Science & Technology, Dept. of Wood & Furniture Design and Technology, Technological Education Institute (TEI) of
Thessaly, Karditsa, Greece; bChimar Hellas S.A., Thessaloniki, Greece; cSalzburg University of Applied Sciences, Dept. of Forest Products Technology
and Timber Construction, Faculty for Wood Engineering, A-5431 Kuchl, Austria, and Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania; dEuropean
Panel Federation (EPF), Brussels, Belgium

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

In this work, the adhesive systems used today in the European industries of particleboard, medium Received 11 September 2017
density fibreboard (MDF) and oriented strand board (OSB) are discussed. The structure of Revised 25 September 2017
particleboard, MDF and OSB markets in Europe in relation to the types of adhesives and product Accepted 20 October 2017
specifications are presented as well. It is noticeable that new markets for wood-based panels like
KEYWORDS
particleboard and fibreboard, known as non-furniture markets, are growing in Europe at a fast rate. Wood-based panels;
It was concluded that most of the technological changes concerning the adhesive systems applied formaldehyde-based
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and additives have been realised from the need for niche panel products, the obligation to reach adhesives; urea-
even lower formaldehyde emissions, and the necessity to decrease production costs due to the formaldehyde; melamine-
stringent competition in the market of wood-based panels. urea-formaldehyde;
polymeric methylene di-
isocyanate (PMDI);
formaldehyde emission

Introduction
wood panels with better water and weather resistance
In the recent years, the particleboard, medium density fibre- (Dunky 1995, Alexandropoulos et al. 1998, Dunky 2003, Atha-
board (MDF) and oriented strand board (OSB) industries in nassiadou et al. 2010, 2015). Nearly all kinds of requirements
Europe have been encountered with many challenges can be met with aminoplastic adhesives. It should be noted
such as faster curing times, production of niche products though that, in wood adhesives, the application parameters
and lower formaldehyde emissions (Markessini 1993, other than the characteristics of the adhesive itself, can
Dunky 1995, Wolf 1997, Alexandropoulos et al. 1998, account for a substantial part of the performance (Dunky
Dunky 1998, Guerin 1998, Mantanis and Markessini 1998, and Niemz 2002, Dunky 2003).
Dunky et al. 2000, Pizzi 2006, Irle and Barbu 2010, Kutnar Furthermore, new special wood-based panels such as
and Burnard 2014, Barbu 2015), while a series of technologi- moisture-resistant, fire-retardant, biologically resistant, shut-
cal changes relating to new adhesive systems has been tering and other, have shown a growth in the European par-
taking place (Dunky 2003, Athanassiadou and Ohlmeyer ticleboard and MDF market in the recent years (Irle and
2009, Tsirogiannis 2011, Stroobants and Grunwald 2014, Barbu 2010, Barbu 2015, Sandberg 2016).
Vnučec et al. 2017). Aminoplastic adhesives, with very low content of free for-
As a matter of fact, aminoplastic adhesives are still the maldehyde, fulfil today the stringent regulations, concerning
most important adhesives for the different types of wood- the subsequent formaldehyde emission, that have been
based panels, particularly in particleboard and MDF (Kutnar enforced in Europe during the last three decades (Alexando-
and Burnard 2014, Athanassiadou et al. 2015, Sandberg poulos et al. 1998, Dunky 2003, Tsirogiannis 2011, Athanassia-
2016). Aminoplastic adhesives, as synthetic adhesives made dou et al. 2015). Besides, wood-based panels with extremely
from amino-compounds, include two basic types: urea-for- low formaldehyde emission, similar to that of natural wood,
maldehyde (UF) and melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF), can be produced particularly by means of special MUF
with different proportions of melamine (C3H6N6). They are adhesives (Alexandropoulos et al. 1998, Dunky 2003, Tsiro-
both thermosetting polymers and of condensation type giannis 2011, Sandberg 2016). MUF adhesives containing
(Pizzi and Mittal 2003). While UF adhesives are used mostly small amounts of phenol (3–8%) or hydroxymethylphenols
for interior-use panels, the incorporation of melamine, an (MUPF), as well as phenol-formaldehyde (PF) adhesives are
organic base and a trimer of cyanamide, results in adhesives less used in the particleboard and MDF production, and
with a lower susceptibility against hydrolysis and, hence, added only supplementarily for niche products. The general

CONTACT George I. Mantanis [email protected] Research Lab of Wood Science & Technology, Dept. of Wood & Furniture Design and Technology,
Technological Education Institute (TEI) of Thessaly, GR-43100 Karditsa, Greece
*This work is dedicated to Emeritus Professor Dr Edmone Roffael (University of Göttingen) for his significant research contributions in the field of wood-based panels
and adhesives.
© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
 2 G. I. MANTANIS ET AL.

Table 1. General properties of formaldehyde-based adhesives (Grunwald 2014).

Type of adhesive
Property UF MUF PF MUPF
Hardening temperature (°C) 100 100 135 100
Colour of hardened adhesive Clear white Clear white Brown Yellow
Dry shear strength (MPa) 13 13 12 12
Wet shear strength (MPa) after 48 h 8 9 10 9
storage in water
Water and climate resistance Conditionally permanent Permanent vs. humidity. Not Permanent vs. humidity Permanent vs. humidity. Not
vs. Humidity against weather and weather against weather
Rheological behaviour Minor flow Minor flow Good to very good flow Minor to average flow
Use of a hardener Yes Yes Yes (sometimes) Yes

physicochemical and mechanical properties of the formal- Nonetheless, the main adhesive systems used in the Euro-
dehyde-based adhesives are shown in Table 1 (Grunwald pean wood-based panels industry today are UF, MUF, PF and
2014). In general, the quantities of MUPF, PF and PMDI PMDI adhesives, whose main characteristics are briefly dis-
adhesives consumed today by the European particleboard cussed in the sections that follow.
and MDF industries are negligible, approximately 2–3% (Grun-
wald 2017).
UF adhesives
On the contrary, polymeric methylene di-isocyanate
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(PMDI) today is the primary adhesive applied in the European UF is the main adhesive for wood-based panels with many
OSB industry (Stroobants and Grunwald 2014), in varying strong advantages: very low cost, non-flammable, light
addition levels, depending upon the required properties of colour and fast curing rates (Dunky 2003, Pizzi and Mittal
the final products (Grunwald 2014). 2003). Today worldwide, UF adhesives are by far the major
Adhesives based on natural resources (named as ‘bio- types of aminoplastic adhesives used mainly for panels of
adhesives’) have shown not significant importance for the indoor use. The major drawback of these adhesives is their
European wood-based panels industry. Actually, only minute poor water resistance (Pizzi 1994, Dunky 1998, 2003), where
volumes of niche products based on tannins are offered in some bondline failures can be observed under accelerated
the market. Lately, there has been a high research interest aging. UF adhesives occasionally exhibit some problems
in bio-adhesives mainly in soy-based adhesives (Vnučec with long-term hydrolytic instability (Dunky 1998, Pizzi and
et al. 2017), as well as in lignin- and tannin-based adhesives Mittal 2003, Grunwald 2014).
(Nakos et al. 2016, Hemmilä et al. 2017, Papadopoulou
2017). The interest of the industry is strong in North
MUF adhesives
America and China, but much lower in Europe. The main
reasons for the interest in such adhesives are the legislation, MUF adhesives, with different proportions of melamine, show
and the growing attention in more environmentally friendly high resistance against moisture and climate, and are used in
products, not dependent on petrochemicals. As a matter of particleboard, MDF and high-density fibreboard (HDF), and
fact, for soy-based adhesives, there are many concentrated sometimes in OSB production. Pure melamine-formaldehyde
forms of soy proteins, i.e. concentrates and isolates, which (MF) adhesives are only used for decorative laminates and
are suitable raw materials for adhesives, except that their paper coatings, which are outside of the scope of this work.
prices are high. Some soy-based compounds are presently
used in the wood-based panels industry as additives, hard-
PF adhesives
eners or cross-linking agents (Papadopoulou 2017). According
to Vnučec et al. (2017), a soy-based adhesive named soy PF is the oldest type of synthetic adhesives. They are used less
protein-Kymene® in the USA is widely used for interior in particleboard and MDF production, and mostly in OSB (see
plywood and wood flooring, with limited acceptance in parti- N. America market) and plywood, as well as in laminated
cleboard. Another system, known as Soyad™ adhesive, is wood products (e.g. LVL, GLT). After proper curing, PF
used in North America for hardwood plywood, particleboard, adhesives possess permanent resistance under humid cli-
MDF and wood flooring. Noticeably, very recently, two major matic conditions (Grunwald 2014). They yield very good
European groups announced the use of a bio-based resin adhesion to wood, and have excellent stability. The
technology, named DuraBind™, for the production of ‘no- common additive for PF adhesives is urea [CO(NH2)2] to
added-formaldehyde’ (NAF) wood panels, having the provide improved flow properties, to reduce the cost, and
highest level of renewable content. A few years ago, two to scavenge the free formaldehyde (Sandberg 2016); also, to
German plants (particleboard, MDF) used quebracho (Schi- reduce the water content of the resins, which can have a posi-
nopsis sp.) and wattle (Acacia sp.) tannin-based adhesives in tive impact on the use in core layer gluing of OSB and particle-
their production for special panel products (Roffael et al. board (Grunwald 2017). Sometimes, common hardener for
2000). Today in the European market, there is only a very the PF adhesive systems is potassium carbonate (K2CO3),
small usage of tannins, in two MDF mills, for the production even though, sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) is used infrequently
of niche MDF products. (Roffael 2017).
 WOOD MATERIAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING 3

PMDI adhesives interrelated data, are derived from dependable sources,

such as the annual reports 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 of
PMDI adhesives are commonly used in bonding wood panels
the European Panel Federation (EPF), the database of Food
because of the high bond strength they provide. Usually, they
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations,
are a mixture of monomeric diphenylmethanediisocyanate
the database of the United Nations Economic Commission
and methylene-bridged oligo-aromatic isocyanates with
for Europe (UNECE), as well as from other reliable periodicals
several NCO groups on each molecule (Dunky 2003, Sandberg
in the field of wood-based panels such as Wood-Based Panels
2016). The higher cost of the PMDI adhesives is offset by the
International.
faster reaction time, compared to PF, the very high bond
strength and the superior resistance to water and climatic
conditions (Dunky 2003). These adhesives are marketed as European wood-based panels industry
formaldehyde-free systems in Europe. However, PMDI
The particleboard industry
adhesives need special precautionary protection measures
when used in the industry, and press-sticking problems The European particleboard industry experienced a positive
need special care, when used in the face layer. Cured PMDI growth during 2016, according to the annual report
adhesives though, pose no recognised health concerns (Grun- 2016–2017 of EPF (2017). EPF is the European federation
wald 2014). of the particleboard, MDF and OSB industrial manufac-
The following chapters focus on the adhesive systems used turers, and has 25 member countries. EPF represents also
today in the particleboard, MDF and OSB industry in Europe, the manufacturers of plywood, hardwood and softwood
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providing detailed technical information and summarising panels.

the state-of-the-art in the area of wood-based panels. In The overall level of particleboard production (2016), in the
addition, special focus is given on the structure of the corre- EPF member countries, amounted to 30.25 million m3. This
sponding European wood-based panel markets, with data level of particleboard production remained far below from
provided about the capacity and production as well as the the peak of 37.8 million m3 produced in 2007. Figure 1 outlines
special (niche) panel products. the capacity and production of particleboard in the EPF
member countries through the years 2011–2016 (2016, 2017).
Since 2013, the production of particleboard throughout
Methodology
Europe has presented slight increasing growth rates. In 2016,
This work examined research and review articles published as there was an increase of particleboard production of about
well as conference and seminar presentations given between 0.8% over 2015, in the EPF member countries, which
January 1994 and August 2017, in this subject. The relevant altogether have 98 operating particleboard plants (as in
literature collected was interrelated with the particular 2016). The particleboard production per each EPF member
subject of adhesives and additives of wood-based panels. country in the period 2011–2016 is shown in Table 2 (2017).
Much of the technical information came straight from In addition, it was estimated that the key figures of the
several European subject experts, as shown in references, particleboard industry in other European countries like
through personal communication done via questionnaires. Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Serbia, in the years 2011–2016,
Some of the technical information, presented in this work, is were those shown in Table 3 (EPF 2016, 2017). Table 3 also
part of the knowledge possessed by the authors through outlines the estimates of the particleboard production in
year-long work and experience in the field of wood-based major-producing countries worldwide, for comparative
panels. purposes (EPF 2017).
The presented statistical data regarding the capacity and Technical standards have been adopted by the European
production of particleboard, MDF and OSB, as well as other Committee for Standardisation (CEN) for the different

Figure 1. Particleboard capacity and production in the EPF member countries in 2011–2016 (EPF 2017).
 4 G. I. MANTANIS ET AL.

Table 2. Particleboard production (in 1000 m3) in the EPF member countries in 2011–2016 (EPF 2017).
Country 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Change (%) 2015–2016
Austria (5)* 2094 2181 2202 2160 2180 2300 +5.5
Belgium (2) 1297 1300 1154 1180 1180 1050 −11.0
Bulgaria (3) 475 480 500 520 520 520 0
Croatia (1) 105 110 120 120 121 121 0
Czech Republic (3) 1150 1200 1062 1095 1115 1140 +2.3
Denmark (1) 335 349 358 373 379 392 +3.4
Estonia (1) 193 169 190 190 151 160 +6.0
Finland (1) 185 93 98 90 90 101 +12.0
France (11) 3997 3870 3797 3779 3630 3627 −0.1
Germany (17) 5750 5608 5626 5665 5532 5500 −0.6
Greece (1) 270 240 140 93 83 119 +43.0
Hungary (1) 280 285 300 320 320 320 0
Ireland (0)*** – – – – – – –
Italy (11) 2976 2588 2354 2316 2396 2569 +7.2
Latvia (1) 300 320 325 312 327 345 +5.4
Lithuania (2) 495 500 665 674 682 682 0
Luxemburg (0) – – – – – – –
Norway (2) 316 286 235 267 274 275 +0.3
Poland (5) 2860 2831 2576 2790 2793 2807 +0.5
Portugal (3) 686 577 563 625 744 774 +4.0
Romania (7) 1100 1200 1250 1650 1765 1915 +8.5
Slovakia (2) 710 715 720 689 804 840 +4.5
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Slovenia** (1) 130 120 125 130 139 0 −100.0

Spain (10) 1601 1346 1313 1458 1737 1806 +4.0
Sweden (2) 510 572 542 494 539 543 +0.7
Switzerland (1) 522 545 555 383 391 395 +1.0
The Netherlands (0) – – – – – – –
UK (5) 2316 1779 1965 2050 2115 1949 −7.9
Total EPF: 30,652 29,264 28,735 29,421 30,007 30,250 +0.8
* In the parentheses, the number of particleboard plants (2016) in each country (EPF 2017).
** In Slovenia, the only one particleboard plant has closed down at the end of 2015 (EPF 2017).
*** Ireland, Luxemburg and The Netherlands have no particleboard plants (as in 2016).

Table 3. Estimates of particleboard production in major-producing countries (EPF 2016, 2017).

Country 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Change (%) 2015 to 2016
A. European non-EPF member countries (in 1000 m3)
Russia 6634 6753 6657 6543 6518 6865 +5.3
Turkey n/a n/a n/a n/a 4360 4150 −4.8
Ukraine* 2689 2508 2439 2250 2160 2334 +8.1
Serbia 202 247 221 262 227 215 −5.3
B. Major-producing countries worldwide (in 1000 m3)
Australia 920 840 837 855 903 915 +1.3
Brazil 3070 3261 3381 3195 2719 2816 +3.6
Canada 1650 1704 1694 1717 1723 1761 +2.2
China 12,698 12,891 12,247 16,729 20,300 22,330 +10.0
Chile 755 755 755 755 755 755 0
Iran 795 886 981 1010 804 840 +4.5
Japan 960 920 1040 1070 1070 1089 +1.8
S. Korea 795 801 802 830 820 815 −0.6
USA 4010 3664 4128 4134 4209 4087 −3.0
* Bekhta (2017).

particleboard types produced today in Europe (EN 312). Grunwald 2017), it was estimated that the adhesive use in
Specific requirements, depending upon the thickness range, the European particleboard industry was split between UF
have been issued for each particleboard type. The types of (90–92%), MUF (6–7%) and PMDI (1–2%) adhesives.
particleboard produced in Europe are outlined in Table 4.
In respect to the final applications of particleboard, the fur- Table 4. Types of particleboard produced in Europe (EN 312).
niture market remains the largest user of particleboard in Type Particleboard application Standard
Europe (EPF 2017) with 66% in 2016. The building sector P1 General purpose boards for use in dry conditions EN 312: 2010
accounted for a share of 22% including doors and flooring P2 Boards for interior fitments (including furniture) for use EN 312: 2010
in dry conditions
applications. The remaining 12% of particleboard consump- P3 Non-load-bearing boards for use in humid conditions EN 312: 2010
tion, distributed to other applications such as packaging, P4 Load-bearing boards for use in dry conditions EN 312: 2010
panelling and frames. P5 Load-bearing boards for use in humid conditions EN 312: 2010
P6 Heavy duty load-bearing boards for use in dry EN 312: 2010
It is difficult to accurately determine the exact proportions of conditions
adhesives consumed in Europe for particleboard production. P7 Heavy duty load-bearing boards for use in humid EN 312: 2010
According to recent sources (Kutnar and Burnard 2014, conditions
 WOOD MATERIAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING 5

Table 5. Estimates of MDF capacity and production in Europe (as in 2016). Table 6. Types of MDF produced in Europe (EN 622-5).
Country Number of millsa Capacityb Productionc (in 1000 m3) Type Board application Standard
Austria 1 450 550 MDF General purpose boards for use in dry conditions EN 622-5
Belarus 6 1060 n/a MDF.H General purpose boards for use in humid conditions EN 622-5
Belgium 1 300 320 MDF.LA Load-bearing boards for use in dry conditions EN 622-5
Czech Republic 1 92 35 MDF.HLS Load-bearing boards for use in humid conditions EN 622-5
France 4 1040 980 L-MDF Light-MDF boards for use in dry conditions EN 622-5
Germany 12 4020 3500 L-MDF.H Light-MDF boards for use in humid conditions EN 622-5
Greece 1 130 60 UL1-MDF Ultra-light-MDF boards for use in dry conditions EN 622-5
Hungary 1 210 175 UL2-MDF Ultra-light-MDF boards for use in dry conditions EN 622-5
Ireland 1 420 440 MDF-RWH Boards for use in rigid underlays in roofs and walls EN 622-5
Italy 4 1260 950
Luxemburg 1 270 225
Poland 8 2900 3150
Portugal 3 475 285 Table 7. MDF grades produced in mills operating in the EPF member countries
Romaniad 1 350 305 (EPF 2016).
Russiae 17 2800 1510 No. of MDF Percent of the mills
Slovenia 1 180 130 MDF grades mills (%)
Spain 7 1445 660 Raw 43 100
Switzerland 1 240 205 Melamine-faced 28 65
Turkeye 17 5100 4750 Veneered 7 16
Ukraine 3 535 n/a Moisture-resistant 32 75
UK 2 950 680 Biologically resistant 3 7
a
WBPI (2017a) and EPF (2017). Fire-resistant 14 32
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b
EPF (2017). Shuttering 2 5
c
Production data from FAO (2017), EPF (2017) and UNECE (2017). Other grades (L-MDF, UL-MDF, 27 63
d
As in the end of 2016; two (2) MDF mills are currently operating in Romania printed, thin)
(September 2017).
e
Data for Russia and Turkey from EPF (2017).
also produce moisture-resistant MDF (MDF.H), and 65%
produce melamine-faced MDF. Other niche products include
The MDF industry fire resistant, veneered, and shuttering MDF and other such
MDF was first introduced in Europe in 1973, in the former East as biological-resistant MDF (EPF 2017).
Germany, with the first sales occurring in 1976 at the United It is known that MDF applications outside the furniture
Kingdom (Alexandropoulos et al. 1998). At the end of 2016, industry (interior-use MDF) are more developed in the Euro-
there were 49 MDF manufacturing plants in the EPF pean market than elsewhere (Irle and Barbu 2010, EPF
member countries (EPF 2017), while another 43 MDF indus- 2016). According to EPF (2017), furniture applications (45%)
trial mills were operating in Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and and laminate flooring applications (32%) remained the two
Belarus, as a whole (WBPI 2017a). major buyers of the European-produced MDF panels in
Fibreboard production in Europe includes mainly MDF, 2016 (Table 8). ‘Do-it-yourself’ applications were counted to
which represents about 70% of all the fibreboard market in ca. 16%, despite the increased popularity of renovation. The
Europe. This MDF volume includes HDF for flooring, thin remaining 7% of MDF production, forwarded to moulding
HDF, and also, low-density fibreboard. The rest of fibreboard and other applications such as outdoor panelling, small cabi-
production consists of wet-process hardboard, and rigid and nets, frames, games and toys.
flex softboard, in volume proportions 4% and 26%, respect- According to EPF (2017), the produced European MDF and
ively (EPF 2017). HDF in relation to the nominal panel thickness was divided
Table 5 outlines the estimates of MDF capacity and pro- into three classes: (a) thick panels, with a thickness >9 mm
duction in Europe in year 2016 (EPF 2017, UNECE 2017, (49% of the total production), (b) panels with a thickness
WBPI 2017a). Newer data showed that the European MDF between 5–9 mm (42%) and (c) thin MDF (thickness
capacity in the EPF member countries reached the level of <5 mm), which represented a share of just 9% of the total
14.7 million m3 in 2016 (2017). Turkey possesses the highest European production.
MDF capacity (5.1 million m3), while Russia has a capacity of
2.8 million m3 for MDF. The OSB industry
The production of MDF in the EPF member countries grew
The OSB industry in Europe has been growing increasingly in
by 2.0% in year 2016, exceeding 12.0 million m3 (EPF 2017).
the recent years. At the end of 2016, 24-OSB plants have been
This figure does not include the MDF production of Turkey
running in Europe. The OSB capacity and production per each
and Russia, which summed up 4.75 and 1.51 million m3,
European country is shown in Table 9 (EPF 2017, FAO 2017,
respectively (EPF 2017). The production of 12.0 million m3 in
UNECE 2017, WBPI 2017b).
the EPF member countries remained lower than the peak of
13.3 million m3 of MDF produced in 2007. The types of MDF
Table 8. Applications of European MDF products (EPF 2017).
manufactured in Europe today are presented in Table 6
Application Percent of the total (%)
(EN 622-5).
Furniture uses 45
In 2016, all European MDF industries produced standard Laminate flooring 32
grade, while many MDF mills fabricated various grades of ‘Do-it-yourself’ applications 16
special products (Table 7). Seventy-five percent of the mills Panelling, cabinets, frames, games, etc. 7
 6 G. I. MANTANIS ET AL.

Table 9. Estimates of OSB capacity and production in Europe (as in 2016). over the years was the attempt of resin manufacturers to
Country Number of plantsa Capacitya Productionb (in 1000 m3) decrease largely the formaldehyde emission. The driving
Belarus 1 300 n/a force behind that has been the consumer opinion, along
Belgium 1 400 240 with the legal regulations (Dunky et al. 2000, Kutnar and
Bulgaria 1 240 205
Czech Republic 1 500 n/a Burnard 2014, Hill et al. 2015). It should be noted that the for-
France 1 400 355 maldehyde emission from finished wood panels depends
Germany 3 1270 1350 upon exogenic factors (temperature, relative humidity), and
Hungary 1 300 235
Ireland 1 500 350 endogenic factors such as wood species, type of adhesive,
Italy 1 130 70 resin addition level, production conditions and type of press
Latvia 1 500 n/a (Roffael 2006).
Luxemburg 1 200 205
Poland 2 740 950 Furthermore, the reduction of the F:U ratio was initially
Romania 2 1000 920 achieved by introducing in the resin cooking process one or
Russia 4 930 900 two extra steps in the urea addition (Alexandropoulos et al.
Turkey 1 170 75
Ukrainec 1 200 125 1998, Dunky 2003). The urea reacted with the residual formal-
UK 1 320 345 dehyde, and the free formaldehyde emitted from the board
a
WBPI (2017b) and EPF (2017). was drastically reduced. However, this outcome had many
b
Production data from FAO (2017), EPF (2017) and UNECE (2017). negative side-effects. The plants had to tolerate longer press-
c
Bekhta (2017).
ing times, tighter control of wood moisture content, and
higher resin consumption, in addition to the fact that the
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Recent calculations revealed that the OSB production, in mechanical properties and water resistance of the panels
the EPF member countries, increased by 6.9% in year 2016 were lowered. Thus, further developments to address these
(2017), and thus, exceeded 5.4 million m3. As shown in problems included the addition of a small quantity of mela-
Table 9, Germany, Poland and Romania hold the largest OSB mine (usually 1–4%). Although this increased the production
production outputs; noticeably, the overall OSB capacity in cost, it proved to be quite successful. Such MUF adhesives
the EPF member countries (2016) surpassed the mark of 6.5 generally better tolerate process variations than straight UF.
million m3 (2017). As rapidly grown market, European OSB For formaldehyde-based adhesives, the mentioned approach
production is expected to increase further within 2017. appears, up to day, to be the preferred way to produce parti-
According to EN 300 (2006), OSB produced in the European cleboard and MDF with low formaldehyde emission, without
market is divided into four different quality types, namely: the use of any scavengers (Dunky 2003, Tsirogiannis 2011,
OSB/1, OSB/2, OSB/3 and OSB/4, as described in Table 10. Athanassiadou et al. 2015). Another approach to overcome
The loading-bearing OSB panel, suitable for structural uses the negative side-effects of the low-emission UF adhesives
in humid conditions (called as OSB/3), is the major OSB is the addition of small amounts of PMDI in the UF binder,
type, which accounted for approximately 85% of the whole in the core layer of particleboards.
European output. The type OSB/2, i.e. panels suitable for struc- In meanwhile, the industry has invested much in the
tural and non-structural use in dry conditions, accounted for research of low free formaldehyde straight UF adhesives
10% in 2016, according to EPF data (2017). Five percent of (Athanassiadou et al. 2015). New technologies of such UF
the European OSB production was devoted to the OSB/4 adhesives have, in the recent years, come out in the European
category. market by a number of manufacturers. Such adhesive
systems, when used, result in boards with low formaldehyde
emission, with the addition of special formaldehyde scaven-
Adhesive systems used in particleboard and MDF gers (Dunky 2003, Irle and Barbu 2010, Tsirogiannis 2011,
production Athanassiadou et al. 2015). After all, it appears that resin for-
mulation changes to the direction of reducing the F:U ratio
Most of the adhesives currently used in the particleboard
of the UF adhesives are at the maximum feasible level.
industry are formaldehyde-based adhesives (UF, MUF),
which have a molar ratio of formaldehyde to urea (F:U)
between 1.00 and 1.10 (Markessini 2017). In MDF, this F:U Hardeners
ratio can be lower (0.85–1.00) in some cases. It is to be
The hardeners (or catalysts) used in the manufacture of parti-
noted that 20 years ago, the majority of the adhesives used
cleboard and MDF are mainly ammonium sulfate [(NH4)2SO4]
had molar ratios as high as 1.25 (Dunky 1995, Alexandropou-
and ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3). Ammonium salts are used
los et al. 1998). The major reason for this significant reduction
because they are cheap, convenient to handle, and give a
high ratio of pot-life to setting time (Pizzi 1994, Dunky
Table 10. Types of OSB produced in Europe (EN 300). 1998). The use of ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) has been
Type OSB application Standard banned for environmental reasons already, i.e. approximately
OSB/1 General purpose, non-load-bearing panels, and panels EN 300: 2006 20 years ago. The hardeners react with the free formaldehyde
for interior fitments for use in dry conditions
in the resin, and liberate either sulfuric acid or nitric acid,
OSB/2 Load-bearing panels for use in dry conditions EN 300: 2006
OSB/3 Load-bearing panels for use in humid conditions EN 300: 2006 which speeds up the polymerisation reaction by lowering
OSB/4 Heavy duty load-bearing panels for use in humid EN 300: 2006 the pH (Pizzi 1994). More than two decades ago, UF adhesives
conditions
had F:U ratios between 1.10 and 1.25, and wood panels
 WOOD MATERIAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING 7

produced exhibited high levels of free formaldehyde, i.e. class molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. The
E2 or E3 (EN ISO 12460-5). Though, since the trend today is to diverse influence of paraffin waxes, usually added as wax
use UF with significantly lower free formaldehyde, this level is emulsions, on the board properties is well known (Dix et al.
insufficient to produce a significant pH drop, in case that 2003); this varies depending upon their chemical type, chain
ammonium salts are employed as catalysts. Such problems length, type of emulsifier and total amount added (Roffael
can be overcome by using new hardeners, which incorporate et al. 2005).
special accelerating agents that will not rely on the available In the European particleboard and MDF production, paraf-
formaldehyde in order to generate acidity (Alexandropoulos fin waxes are used today in the industry, in amounts below
et al. 1998). Therefore, their effectiveness will not be influ- 0.5% (based on dry wood). In some cases, the wax content
enced by the free formaldehyde in the adhesive used. The can be higher than 1%. However, in other cases, the wax
development of such special catalysts has being carried out content is even higher than 2% in order to decrease the thick-
by some European resin manufacturers. Noticeably, some par- ness swelling, especially the edge swelling of the boards, e.g.
ticleboard and MDF plants in Europe employ such special cat- flooring HDF and moisture-resistant panels (Roffael 2017).
alysts, like aluminium sulfate [Al2(SO4)3], ammonium
persulfate [(NH4)2S2O8], citric acid (C6H8O7), mixtures
Use of adhesives in particleboard production
thereof, or other combined hardener systems.
Noticeably, in the European particleboard industry today, the
main requirement of the UF adhesive system is speed, since
Formaldehyde scavengers the modern continuous presses run with high belt speed,
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meaning at low press factors, which can be in some European

Formaldehyde scavengers, often called formaldehyde catch-
particleboard plants as low as 3 sec per mm (Grunwald 2017).
ers, are chemical compounds added to the glue mix in
This unit (s/mm) is commonly used in the industry, and is
order to decrease the formaldehyde emission from the fin-
referred to the press time of a board per 1 mm thickness of
ished wood panels. They are widely used today in the Euro-
the final panel. In addition, UF adhesives applied require
pean particleboard and MDF industry. Mostly, aqueous
different cooking procedures, or the addition of special addi-
solutions of urea (40% or 45% solids content) are applied.
tives (Tsirogiannis 2011, Athanassiadou et al. 2015). This is
Additionally, agents like sodium metabisulfite (Na2S2O5),
considered to be a major technical achievement in the field
ammonium bisulfite ((NH4)HSO3), or ammonium phosphates,
of formaldehyde-based adhesives.
are also applicable in the European panel industry (Costa et al.
2013). Formaldehyde scavengers are also added directly on
the wood chips ahead of gluing. In some particleboard
Standard grade particleboard
plants, urea is added as a solid material ahead of blending
to keep moisture content of chips as low as possible It is estimated that, approximately >85% of all particleboard
(Roffael 2017). produced in Europe is of standard grade. The majority of
In fact, there are truly many practical advantages in indust- this falls within a thickness of 16–19 mm. Straight UF
rially applying a scavenger system. One advantage to note is adhesives of low F:U ratio (1.00–1.10) are used for this
the flexibility it provides to the manufacturing plant to vary its grade. The average gluing addition factor is in the range of
quantity, and subsequently, control the reduction of formal- 7–8%. The press times in modern press lines, typically vary
dehyde emission, according to the conditions and production between 3 and 5 s/mm. All particleboard products manufac-
requirements. However, the major advantage of a scavenger tured today in the EPF member countries belong strictly to
system is the fact that it provides a much more efficient E1 class according to EN 312, regarding the formaldehyde
system than that of a straight UF. The formaldehyde scaven- emission. They are used mostly for interior applications. Due
gers can be in most cases tailor-made to meet the needs of to the CARB II emission standards (CPA 2013), which have
the particular plant. They are used up to a maximum 10– been enforced in North America lately (2013), exported
15% on the liquid resin, achieving thus reduction in emission wood panels from Europe must comply with the new stricter
up to 50% (Alexandropoulos et al. 1998). Experience in Europe law, regarding formaldehyde emission. Thus, UF adhesives of
has shown that instead of using a very low F:U ratio adhesive, lower F:U ratio (0.98–1.02) containing a small amount of mel-
a plant can achieve better results by using a system of an amine (<2%), are mainly applied in the industry (Athanassia-
equivalent F:U ratio, which is a combination of a higher F:U dou et al. 2015, Markessini 2017).
ratio UF, and a formaldehyde scavenger (Athanassiadou and PMDI is also used in the European particleboard pro-
Ohlmeyer 2009, Tsirogiannis 2011). duction. It is estimated (Grunwald 2017) that ca. 30 particle-
board plants in Europe occasionally run the production with
PMDI for niche products. A few particleboard plants employ
Paraffin waxes
UF systems, but they add PMDI as accelerator (0.3–0.5% on
In the particleboard and MDF production, typically small dry wood) in the core layer. Typical gluing factor for standard
quantities of paraffin waxes are incorporated in the adhesive particleboard grades is roughly 1.5–2.5% using PMDI systems
mix to impart hydrophobic properties (i.e. lower thickness (Grunwald 2014, Stroobants and Grunwald 2014).
swelling) to the finished wood panels (Dunky 1998, 2003). Par- It is noted that very few particleboard plants occasionally
affin waxes are white or colourless soft solids derived from utilise the steam injection technology, especially in the case
petroleum or coal. They consist of a mixture of hydrocarbon of very thick boards (50–100 mm) to increase the production
 8 G. I. MANTANIS ET AL.

speed (Roffael 2017). However, in Europe, this technology kitchen. Also, moulded particleboard panels, suitable for
today is of minor importance. tables and windows, belong to this moisture-resistant grade.
It is well known that PMDI can be used as an accelerator In general, this market has been developed in the recent
and a special crosslinker for UF adhesives (Dunky 2003). years, mostly in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and United
Usually 0.3–0.5% PMDI based on dry particles is used, Kingdom. Particleboard grade of ‘Option 1’ (former ‘V313’) is
whereas the UF gluing factor is not reduced. The press time primarily produced with MUF adhesives, having a melamine
in this case is reduced by 10–15%. Moreover, addition of content of approximately 15–20%. Such adhesive systems
PMDI to UF binders with a very low F:U ratio is used in have molar ratios of around 1.07–1.10, thus yielding boards
some European particleboard plants to achieve extremely of E1 formaldehyde class (EN 312 with the usual perforator
low formaldehyde emission (Dunky 2003, Stroobants and test method according to EN ISO 12460-5). The glue factor is
Grunwald 2014, Stroobants et al. 2016). in the range of 12–13%, based on dry wood. The press times,
in this case, are significantly longer (i.e. 6–10 s/mm).
In addition, particleboard of ‘Option 1’ is also manufac-
Moisture-resistant particleboard
tured in Europe by a small number of particleboard plants,
An important grade in the European market is that of moist- using PMDI binders (Grunwald 2017). Typical average PMDI
ure-resistant particleboard. Typically, such particleboards addition level varies, in this production, between 2.5 and
bear a green colour, for distinction purposes. Strict require- 3.5%.
ments for moisture-resistant boards have been enforced, in The other moisture-resistant particleboard grade (‘Option
accordance with the demanding end-user applications. 2’), which is also used in extreme humid and load-bearing
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Some years ago, the French/English originating ‘V313’ test conditions is qualified according to EN 1087-1 (1995) test
and the German originating ‘V100’ test, were actually in method. Technically, the boil-test requirements are stricter
force, similar, but not identical with the actual particleboard than those of the cyclic test. Option-2 grade represents one
P5 type of ‘Option 1’ or ‘Option 2’. The aforementioned tests more special grade in Europe, although its market volumes
today are the two valid European tests for moisture-resistant are small (1–2% of the particleboard production). This
panels, and described further on in the text. market has been initially developed in Germany for appli-
cations in harsh wet environment and outdoor uses (Dunky
. ‘Option 1’ (cyclic test in humid conditions; EN 321); still, 2003). Particleboard of ‘Option 2’ according to EN 312 is pre-
often called ‘V313’. This accelerated ageing test requires sently manufactured with MUF adhesives, which contain mel-
the measurement of the internal bond of panel (IB), and amine at a percentage of around 18–23%, having a molar ratio
the final panel thickness increase, after a cyclic test (3 F/(NH2)2 of 1.05–1.10. MUPF adhesives are only used nowa-
cycles, each cycle consists of: (i) 70 h immersion in a 20°C days if special certificates, from the past, request this adhesive
water bath; (ii) 24 h placement in a freezing cabinet; and type. The gluing addition level in such a production is ca. 13–
(iii) 70 h placement in a drying cabinet at 70°C). 14%. On the average, for particleboard production of ‘Option
. ‘Option 2’ (determination of moisture resistance – Boil test; 2’, the press times in the European particleboard industry are
EN 1087-1). This strict test requires measurement of the around 8–10 s/mm.
residual IB, after a specific boil test (i.e. 2 h immersion in In Germany, for this particular particleboard grade (‘Option
a boiling-water bath). 2’), PF adhesives were used in the near past. However, they are
now rather seldom applied, due to the required much longer
‘Option 1’ and ‘Option 2’ tests are mostly used in Europe, press times as compared with the MUF adhesive systems. PF-
for qualifying particleboard products in types P3 and P5 bonded boards usually have almost negligible formaldehyde
(see Table 4); even rarely in type P7 as well. In specific, for emission, although, this is dependent on the alkali content
‘Option 1’, moisture-resistant boards are qualified as that of (Roffael 1982, Pizzi and Mittal 2003). As a matter of fact, in
type P3, P5 or P7, following compliance with the different Europe today, no particleboard plant uses PF adhesives, on
requirements (EN 312), concerning the residual IB strength a regular basis, for particleboard production of ‘Option 2’
and the final board thickness increase after the cyclic test (Roffael 2017).
(EN 321). In addition, according to standard EN 312 (2010),
the adhesive systems suitable for the production of particle-
Fire-resistant particleboard
board of ‘Option 1’ or ‘Option 2’, are not restricted anymore.
This practically means, that not only MUPF adhesives, as Fire-resistant particleboard is another special grade in Europe.
used in the past, but also MUF adhesives can be applied in Such boards are used in public buildings, where fire must be
the manufacture of moisture-resistant particleboard. diminished to comply with fire safety regulations (Östman
Additionally, in very rare cases, when PF or PUF (phenol- and Mikkola 2006). Although the production volume of this
urea-formaldehyde) adhesives are used, the alkali content of grade is relatively small (1–2%), a trend for further develop-
the final boards must not exceed 2.0%, based on the oven- ment of this market appears lately. The adhesives used for
dry mass (EN 312). this grade are exclusively MUF adhesives, with a melamine
Moisture-resistant particleboard of ‘Option 1’ is, at present, content of 13–20%. Such adhesives have an F:U ratio of
the major special grade with volumes estimated to be around approximately 1.25–1.30, even that, resulting in panels of E1
4–5% of the total market (EPF 2017). Such boards are formaldehyde class. The glue factor for this special product
designed for use in humid conditions, i.e. bathroom and is 14–16%.
 WOOD MATERIAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING 9

Fire retardants for particleboard are used in solid form, i.e. have a density of less than 500 kg/m3, containing special poly-
usually in granulates having a particle size between 200 and mers and binding agents (Barbu 2015).
600 μm. Halogen-free compounds such as zinc oxide (ZnO),
zinc borate (2ZnO·3B2O3), aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)3), Use of adhesives in MDF production
aluminium trihydrate (AlH6O3), magnesium hydroxide (Mg The adhesives used in the European MDF industry are mostly
(OH)2), ammonium polyphosphate (NH4PO3)n, ammonium UF, often as melamine-fortified UF (1–4% of melamine), so-
dihydrogen phosphate (NH4H2PO4), diammonium phosphate called mUF adhesives. NAF or zero-added formaldehyde
((NH4)2HPO4), boric acid (H3BO3), sodium tetraborate MDF, bonded exclusively with PMDI, comprises a very small
(Na2B4O7·10H2O), ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4), ammonium market in Europe (<1%).
borate ((NH4)3BO3), ammonium carbonate ((NH4)2CO3), urea It is estimated that approximately 50% of all MDF produced
(CH4N2O), melamine (C3H6N6), dimelamine phosphate (C3H9- is of standard grade (EPF 2017), with the majority being in the
N6PO4), guanidine phosphate (CH8N3PO4) or mixtures 16–19 mm thickness class. UF and mUF (1–4% melamine)
thereof are typically applied in the industry (Wiehn 1995, Man- adhesives of low F:U ratio (0.95–1.00) are used for the standard
tanis 2002, Pizzi and Mittal 2003). These fire-retarding agents grade, with resin addition levels of 8–10%. The press times in
are mixed with the wood chips in the blending stage, at a per- modern continuous MDF lines vary between 9 and 11 s/mm.
centage rate of 12–16%, on the dry/dry basis (Mantanis 2002,
Markessini 2017). Much lower press speed, i.e. 20–30% slower,
need to be applied in such a production. Moisture-resistant MDF
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Moisture-resistant MDF is the dominant special grade in

PMDI-bonded particleboard Europe, with volumes estimated at 41% of the total pro-
duction (EPF 2017). Markedly, this percentage includes also
Particleboard of E1 class using isocyanate adhesives is also flooring HDF, which has moisture-resistant properties. This
produced in Europe. This production process was introduced grade in Europe has increased dramatically over the last
some decades ago and has a few disadvantages, e.g. sticking fifteen years. Moisture-resistant MDF is a product designed
to the press belt, low tack of the mat and very high cost. for use in humid conditions. It is successfully used for
Today, there are a couple of plants in Europe producing reg- kitchen furniture, bathrooms, windows etc., and is produced
ularly this type of board. PMDI adhesives can also be used in with MUF or PMDI adhesives. Thus, moisture-resistant MDF,
combination with UF adhesives (Grunwald 2017). In such known as ‘MDF.H Option 1’ or ‘Option 2’ (Table 6), is produced,
cases, UF adhesives are being used particularly in the for the most part, with MUF which contains melamine at a
surface layer, in order to avoid press-sticking problems, percentage of 12–15%. Typical press times are around 9–
whereas, the UF adhesive, in the core layer, is accelerated 11 s/mm. In fact, the continued growth of moisture-resistant
for curing by small amounts of PMDI. MDF makes it a suitable substitute for conventional products
Boards produced with PMDI in core and surface layers in joinery applications and elsewhere.
‘suffer’ from the high cost of PMDI, especially in recent PMDI is employed by few European MDF manufacturers for
times, when the PMDI price is more than doubled com- the production of moisture-resistant MDF ‘Option 1’ in gluing
pared to the status-quo less than two years ago. Although addition levels of 3–4%. For these special grades, PMDI can be
smaller quantities of PMDI are used, such boards are more more competitive to MUF adhesives, on a cost and perform-
expensive than standard UF-bonded boards, and need ance basis (Grunwald 2017).
longer press times. This market is very limited, certainly
less than 1%. The main feature of such pure PMDI-
bonded boards is the absence of formaldehyde; thus, Flooring (HDF)
named as ‘no-added formaldehyde’ (NAF) boards. For that
HDF (density >780 kg/m3) known as HDF, represents almost
reason, direct comparison with class E1, or CARB II particle-
30% of the fibreboard production volume in Europe. HDF
boards, is difficult.
itself represents approximately 80% of the total laminate
In addition, in the production of ‘Option 1’ or ‘Option 2’
flooring market in Europe (EPF 2017). Laminate flooring HDF
particleboard, PMDI in the core layer, in combination with
has achieved spectacular growth over the past few years.
PF or MUF adhesives in the surface layer, are also used by a
This special MDF grade, with high density, has been success-
few plants, or full PMDI-bonded particleboards are manufac-
fully used as a substrate for a wide variety of overlay materials
tured (Stroobants et al. 2016, Grunwald 2017).
such as veneers, high pressure laminates and melamine
impregnated papers (Barbu 2015).
Dry-process fibreboard of this grade (flooring HDF; thick-
Light particleboard
ness range 5–12 mm), is preferably produced with mela-
In the very recent years, a new grade named ‘light- and ultra- mine-fortified UF adhesives having extremely low molar
light’ particleboard, belonging to the type P2 (boards for ratio (0.88–0.92), and 6–8% content of melamine, as in the
interior fitments, including furniture, for use in dry conditions), liquid resin. For this grade, thickness swelling of the raw
has appeared in the European particleboard market. Such board and edge swelling of the final flooring element are
niche lightweight panels, under the commercial names the main strict requirements. Press times in the European
Kaurit® light, CoLight, Balanceboard, BoBoard and SuperPan, industry diverge between 10 and 12 s/mm.
 10 G. I. MANTANIS ET AL.

In central Europe, a few MDF manufacturing plants CARB II MDF

produce flooring HDF of ‘Option 2’ (called once ‘V100 flooring’)
CARB II boards (thickness range 16–19 mm) are produced
by using emulsifiable types of special PMDI adhesives at high
with UF adhesives, with F:U ratios of 0.92–0.96. This represents
adhesive addition, approximately 5–6% (Grunwald 2017).
a small portion (approximately 10%) of the total production
volume in Europe, while E1-class boards being the major cat-
egory. The gluing factor in the production of CARB II MDF is
MDF from acetylated fibres
approximately 9–12%, while the press time is at around 6–
This MDF grade is new in the European market. It refers to the 8 s/mm in modern mills.
manufacture of an innovative MDF panel, commercially MUF adhesives are also used in about 10% of the total pro-
named as Tricoya®, which comprises of wood fibres produced duction volume. The F:U ratio of MUF used varies between
by the acetylation process (Rowell 2014, Mantanis 2017). A 0.92 and 0.96 having a melamine content of 12–15%. The
proprietary PMDI adhesive system is utilised, in adhesive glue loading varies at around 12–14%, and the press time is
addition levels of 6–8%. Thus, acetylated fibres are glued to approximately 9–11 s/mm.
yield exterior-grade MDF products, which are suitable for PMDI is used also to produce such special grades, in about
highly demanding outdoor uses, like cladding and siding, 5% of the total production volumes. Though more expensive,
fascia and soffit panels, window components, door skins this MDF grade is marketed as ‘formaldehyde-free’ or NAF.
and other exterior furniture and structures (Clifton 2017). The glue loading can be approximately 4–5%, and the press
times are at around 10–12 s/mm.
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Fire-resistant MDF
Other grades
Another special grade is that of fire- or flame-resistant MDF
(FR-MDF). Such a product is used in public buildings, where Thin HDF (i.e. thickness 3–6 mm, and ultra-thin <3 mm), called
fire spread must be controlled to satisfy the fire safety regu- thin HDF, is produced with UF of a molar ratio of 0.86–0.90. On
lations (Östman and Mikkola 2006). Although this grade is the other hand, low-density fibreboard (density 180–400 kg/
relatively small (in volume <3%), there has been recently a m3), labelled as low-density MDF (‘L-MDF’) or ultra-low-
trend for further growth, due to enforced regulations in con- density MDF (‘UL-MDF’), represents a small portion of the
struction, in some European countries. High addition levels total MDF production in Europe (<5%), and is used mostly
(15–20% on dry/dry basis) of fire-retarding compounds such for insulation applications (Barbu 2015).
as phosphates, borates, sulfates are applied to the fibres, in
the refiner blowline, before the resination (Mantanis 2002).
Adhesive systems used in OSB production
Typically, these FR additives are formulated in aqueous sol-
utions (40–60% content of solids). As mentioned, PMDI is the primary adhesive system used in
Monoammonium and diammonium phosphate, as well OSB production in Europe (Grunwald 2014, Stroobants and
boric acid and borax, comprise the most frequent fire-retard- Grunwald 2014), contrary to the status-quo of OSB production
ing additives in MDF industry (Wiehn 1995, Mantanis 2002). in North America, where still PF adhesives are used in bigger
However, upcoming changes in the European regulations share. PMDI is actually a mixture of monomeric diphenyl-
may lead soon to the prohibition of boric acid from such methane di-isocyanate and methylene-bridged oligo-aro-
wood applications. In general, the fire retardants used are matic isocyanates (Lay and Cranley 2003). Usually no
non-corrosive agents and halogen-free, since bromine- and hardeners are added during the industrial production of
chlorine-containing compounds have been prohibited in OSB (Dunky 2003). Mostly, it is necessary to use special emul-
Europe from such industrial applications according to sifiers (EMDI) for better distribution of the adhesive. With
REACH (EC 2006). Fire-resistant MDF is produced in Europe special additives (e.g. polyols), a distinct acceleration of the
by exclusively using MUF adhesives (15–18% melamine hardening reaction and hence, shorter press times can be
content) having molar ratios of 1.20–1.25 (Markessini 2017). achieved. This happens especially in the particleboard and
The glue factor in such a production is higher than 14% (on OSB production. To note, chemical compounds such as
the dry/dry basis). triethanol amine, triethylamine, N,N,-dimethyl-cyclohexyla-
Today in Europe, the single burning item (SBI) test is mine can be applicable in OSB production in order to
applied as the harmonised European standard method for enhance the curing of PMDI binder (Lay and Cranley 2003).
FR-treated particleboard and MDF (EN 13823 2002). Actually, In the European production lines, almost all of the OSB
all construction products sold in Europe are classified using plants use PMDI at different addition levels, especially in the
the said test method for determining the reaction to fire core layer. Type OSB/2 production requires usually 1.5–2.5%
behaviour of building products (excluding floorings), when adhesive addition (on the dry wood basis), while the
exposed to the thermal attack by a SBI, e.g. a sand-box upgraded OSB types require even higher addition levels, i.e.
burner supplied with propane (EN 13501-1). As a conse- OSB/3 (2.5–3.5%) and OSB/4 (4–5%). Special flooring products
quence, most of the old barriers, i.e. no common FR test made from OSB require PMDI addition factors >5% (Grunwald
equipment, difficulty to compare fire-test results of wood pro- 2017).
ducts, lack of harmonisation in the standards, have been In OSB, PMDI adhesives dominate the European market (i.e.
removed (Tsantaridis 2017). 75% of the total), while the aminoplastic adhesives such as UF
 WOOD MATERIAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING 11

(10%) and MUF (15%) occupy much smaller proportions in Conclusions

general (Kutnar and Burnard 2014).
The main conclusions drawn from this review work are sum-
marised as follows:
Formaldehyde emission from wood-based panels:
status-quo in Europe . Review of the adhesive systems applied today in the Euro-
pean industry of wood-based panels (particleboard – MDF
Several decades ago, formaldehyde emission was a – OSB) has shown that many developments have been
problem for the industry of wood-based panels, principally taken place in the recent years. Most of the technological
for particleboard and MDF. New regulations that were changes concerning the adhesives and additives used
enforced in the European level, especially in the member have been realised either from the need for new value-
countries of EPF, have changed the situation completely added special products, the necessity to achieve extremely
(EPF 2017). low formaldehyde emission levels, or to lower the pro-
One of the first drastic actions taken to reduce emission of duction costs due to the harsh competition in the market.
formaldehyde was to standardise the emission levels. Accep- . The European industry of wood-based panels is growing
table levels of formaldehyde emission have being continu- steadily in the Eastern part of Europe, within an existing
ously reduced in Europe over the last three decades. In installed overcapacity in the Central part, and newly devel-
nowadays, the corresponding highest permitted limit for par- oped adhesive systems have influenced the European
ticleboard, MDF and OSB stands at 8 mg/100 g board (E1 market as a whole, in a positive way.
class), measured according to EN ISO 12460-5, with preferred
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. Several niche grades of particleboard, HDF and MDF like

half-year gliding average at 6.5 mg. All the industrial manufac- insulation, moisture-resistant, fire-resistant and other,
turers in the EPF member states are obliged to manufacture have been developed in Europe by the use of new
wood panels strictly of E1 class. Such products are very safe advanced adhesive systems.
and of high quality, both for the customers and the end- . European OSB industry is growing very fast. In the recent
users (Kutnar and Burnard 2014, Athanassiadou et al. 2015, years, many investments have been taken place, while
Hill et al. 2015). the industry is concentrated over the use of PMDI
At present, there is no problem whatsoever with the for- systems, which dominate the European OSB industry.
maldehyde emissions in the European markets. Moreover, . Last but not least, the European industry of particleboard
stricter regulations concerning formaldehyde have been in and MDF, by employing new advanced formaldehyde-
force according to California Air Resources Board (CARB), based adhesives (UF, MUF), thanks also to the coordinating
named as CARB I, in order to reduce formaldehyde emissions efforts of EPF, has handled well the chronic issue of formal-
from composite wood products that are manufactured, dehyde emissions in the European countries by applying
imported, distributed, sold and fabricated in the State of Cali- very strict regulations (i.e. class E1, CARB II). Nevertheless,
fornia, USA. These regulations affected the European industry new and even lower limits are presently in discussion, trig-
to some extent, since the industry as exporters to N. America gered by the re-classification of formaldehyde as a carcino-
markets had to comply with these rules. In fact, this regulation genic substance.
set ceiling limits for the emission of formaldehyde (CARB I)
from wood panels have gone into effect by 1 January 2009.
This specifies the use of a large chamber test method
(ASTM E1333), as the reference scheme for demonstrating
Acknowledgements
compliance. Furthermore, newer stricter measures for formal- The authors highly acknowledge the subject experts, namely, Mr Charles
dehyde emissions, known as CARB II, have recently been in Markessini, Mr Panagiotis Nakos, Mr. Paschalis Tsirogiannis, Mrs Electra
Papadopoulou of Chimar Hellas SA (Greece), Dr Dirk Grunwald (Huntsman
force in the USA, starting 1 January 2013.
Polyurethanes), Prof. Em. Edmone Roffael (Univ. of Göttingen, Germany),
According to the specialists, in conformity with ASTM E Prof. Mark Irle (Ecole Supérieure du Bois - Nantes, France), Assoc. Prof.
E1333-14 (2014), CARB II limits are as follows (CPA 2013): (i) Andreja Kutnar (Univ. of Primorska, Slovenia), Dr Lazaros Tsantaridis
0.09 ppm formaldehyde emission for particleboard (i.e. this (RISE, Sweden), Prof. Dick Sandberg (Luleå University of Technology,
corresponds to a value of 2–4 mg/100 g compared with the Sweden), Prof. Pavlo Bekhta (Ukrainian National Forestry University,
Ukraine) and Mr Peter Clifton (Medite Tricoya, UK) for the valuable techni-
Perforator method); (ii) 0.11 ppm formaldehyde emission for
cal feedback provided in this work.
MDF; (iii) 0.13 ppm formaldehyde emission for thin MDF/
HDF (maximum thickness of 8 mm). Such regulations have
brought formaldehyde emissions 10 to 20 times lower, than Disclosure statement
the allowable levels existed 30 years ago, thus solving the
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
problem for the time being.
However, based on the re-classification of formaldehyde as
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