Particleboard From Rubber Wood Flakes with Polymeric MDI Binder

The use of rubber wood (Hevea brasiliensis) flakes for particleboard with polymeric diisocyanate (pMDI) as a binder was investigated. The effects of binder content in surface/core layers, cure temperature, cure time, and flake moisture on the properties of rubber wood particleboards were studied. The properties of the particleboard were compared with those of phenol-formaldehyde (PF) binder. The particleboard prepared from rubber wood flakes with pMDI binder gave high quality particleboards that had durability under severe conditions, low water absorption and thickness swelling, and a high modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and internal bond strength. Moreover, pMDI binder could be cured at low temperatures, within a short time, and the binder consumption was small. The scanning electron micrographs of the rubber wood particleboard prepared from the high moisture content flakes showed the best, very tight packing characteristics