Comparison of Formaldehyde Emission Rate and Formaldehyde Content from Rice Husk Flour Filled Particleboard Bonded with Urea-Formaldehyde Resin

The this study, the effect of rice husk flour (RHF) as scavenger on formaldehyde emission rate and formaldehyde content from urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin bonded RHF content wood particleboards (PB). Two type of particle size ($30{\mu}m$ and $300{\mu}m$) of RHF was premixed with the UF resin at 5% and 15% by weight. The performance of UF resins is greatly influenced by the curing characteristics in their curing processing. The curing behavior was monitored activation energy ($E_a$) by DSC and pH variation according to RHF contents. PB with dimensions of $27cm{\times}27cm{\times}0.7cm$ was prepared at a specific gravity of 0.75 using $E_1$ and $E_2$ class UF resins. Formaldehyde emission and formaldehyde content from RHF filled PB bonded with UF resin was measured by 24 h desiccator and perforator method, respectively. RHF causes an increased pH of UF resin. $E_a$ of the modified UF resin decreased independently of RHF particle size. As the pH and the $E_a$ variation of the UF resin containing RHF increased, the amount of formaldehyde content decreased. The formaldehyde emission and formaldehyde content levels of the PB bonded with 15 wt% of $30{\mu}m$ RHF and $E_2$ type UF resin were low and satisfied grade $E_1$, as measured by 24 h desiccator and perforator method. The result of a comparison between 24 h desiccator and perforator test using PB showed that the linear regression analyses show a good correlation between the results for the 24 h desiccator and the perforator tests. The linear regression of a correlation between the desiccator and the perforator was Y=4.842X-0.064 ($R^2=0.989$). RHF was effective at reducing formaldehyde emission and formaldehyde content in urea-formaldehyde adhesives when used as scavenger.