Abstract
Urea formaldehyde resins are widely used in the manufacturing of wood composite and their usage is always combined with release of formaldehyde characterized to be hazardous to health during and after the manufacturing of the products. This study investigates the effectiveness of wood-based adhesive from oil of pyrolysed Triplochiton scleroxylon sawdust for the production of composite board. The wood-derived Pyrolytic Oil (PyO) was blended with Urea Formaldehyde (UF) resin to formed Pyrolytic Oil-Urea Formaldehyde (PyOUF). The obtained PyOUF called Wood-Based Adhesives at four blends and control (UF) viz; 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:1, 1:3 were further employed to prepare the composite board and test for their bonding strength by physical (water absorption-WA and thickness swelling-Th.S) and mechanical properties (modulus of elasticity-MOE, modulus of rupture-MOR, and impact bending-IB). Data obtained was analysed using analysis of variance at α 0.05. The result of analysis of variance conducted on physical properties show significant difference (p≤0.05) between the WA values obtained when testing the different blending proportion of PyOUF and likewise between 2 and 24 h of immersion. PyOUF had significant effect (p≤0.05) on Th. S for 24 h but no significant different (p>0.05) for the 2 h period of soaking. The analysis of variance on mechanical properties of the composite board (MOE, MOR, and IB) show significance differences (p≤0.05) between the strength values obtained when testing the different ratios of PyO with UF. PyO content influenced the properties of the boards and it is evident that PyO can be used in the manufacture of composite board.