Effect of relative humidity and temperature on formaldehyde emission from MDF subjected to load

ABSTRACT

Effect of relative humidity (RH) and temperatures on formaldehyde emission (FE) from medium density fibreboard (MDF) subjected to load was investigated. For this purpose, flexural creep tests at 15 and 30% of ultimate bending loads were performed by using flexural creep equipment. The samples were exposed to loads at RH of 45, 65 and 85% and temperatures of 15°C, 23°C and 30°C for 72 hours. Subsequently, FEs of samples were measured by the flask method. The results indicated that FE in loaded samples is greater than unloaded samples. FE in all samples (unloaded and loaded) increased with increasing RH and temperature. The highest FE was observed in higher load level, higher RH and at higher temperature. Temperature was more effective than RH on FE from MDF.

KEYWORDS:

• Formaldehyde emissions
• load levels
• creep
• medium density fibreboard
• relative humidity
• temperature

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Mostafa Ebrahimi is an M.Sc. in Wood-Based Composites from Tarbiat Modares University (IRAN). He is working in a local MDF manufacturer company in North of Iran.

Saeed Kazemi Najafi is a professor in Wood-Based Composites in Tarbiat Modares University (IRAN). His researches are focused on wood-based panels, wood adhesives, wood-plastic composites and non-destructive tests.

Rabi Behrooz is an associate professor in Lignocellulosic Materials Processing in Tarbiat Modares University (IRAN). His researches are focused on Lignin, Biopolymers and Nanotechnology.