Combination of urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins with technical lignins has been often reported in the literature. However, the actual implications of this approach have not been effectively addressed yet. In this work, unmodified thick spent sulfite liquor (TSSL) and hydroxymethylated TSSL (TSSLH) were incorporated in a standard UF resin in different amounts (10 and 20%) and at different stages. When 10% of TSSLH ...
In this work, two synthesis procedures for the preparation of urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins, based on the alkaline-acid process, are studied in order to better understand the chemical reactions involved. For that purpose, the number of urea loads and the methyolation temperature were varied. The molecular weight distribution of the resins was monitored by gel permeation chromatography/size exclusion chromatogra...
Adhesives obtained by copolymerizing urea, formaldehyde, and difunctional polyetheramine with different molecular weights (230, 600, 900, and 2000 gmol(-1)) are presented as a more resilient alternative to conventional urea-formaldehyde resins. Urea and polyetheramine contents were varied and the resulting resins characterized by FTIR, C-13-NMR, and TGA. These resins were used for production of agglomerated cor...
High-pressure laminates are decorative materials that are widely used in furnishing and building industries. One of their major handicaps, especially in the case of high gloss laminates, is the ease of staining by fingerprints. This problem can a priori be minimized by increasing the hydrophobicity and oleophobicity of the surface. To improve hydrophobicity, the chemical composition of the resin used for impreg...
Currently, the majority of binders used in wood particleboard (PB) manufacturing are formaldehyde-based synthetic resins. Because of the toxicity of formaldehyde, there is a strong demand for eco-friendly alternatives with similar performances and economic viability. In this work, thick spent sulfite liquor (TSSL), an industrial byproduct from sulfite pulp mills, is proposed as a binder for fully bio-based PBs....
Caprolactam and o-p-toluenesulfonamide are tested as chain-growth blockers for melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) resins, in an attempt to reduce the crosslinking density of the cured resin and hence improve its flexibility. Agglomerated cork panels, for which flexibility is a technical demand, were produced with the modified resins and tested. The blockers were added at three different steps in the synthesis pro...
Urea-formaldehyde resins are successfully used in many contexts, but their tightly crosslinked thermoset structure impairs some applications, due to stiff and brittle behavior. In this work we show that copolymerization of urea and formaldehyde with glycols introduces linear flexible segments in the polymer structure, thus increasing the resilience and flexibility of the resin after curing. Glycols with differe...
This work studies the use of soy protein as a natural formaldehyde scavenger in wood particleboard production. The protein is incorporated in two forms: a) as a powder, during the blending process of wood particles with urea-formaldehyde binder resin, and b) as an aqueous solution, added at different times during resin synthesis. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the significance level of two ef...