White mustard straw as an alternative raw material in the manufacture of particleboards resinated with different amount of urea formaldehyde resin

In this work the optimum resination rate of white mustard straw particles with UF resin in the production of straw particleboards was investigated. The resination rates used in this study were 10, 12 and 14%. For the selected resination rate, the possibility of reducing the density of the straw particleboards was also determined. In order to evaluate the hygienic parameters of the experimental boards, the formaldehyde content and volatile organic compounds (VOC) were determined. Moreover, using a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) the boards’ disposal options by means of burning or co-incineration were investigated. The study results showed that a 10% resination rate enabled the production of white mustard particleboards of type P1 and P2, while the simultaneous reduction in their density to 600 kg/m3 limited their application to dry conditions only, i.e. boards of P1 type. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed a variable thermal performance of the studied boards. The pine particleboards showed a higher thermal resistance, however, up to a temperature of 750°C, the samples of the experimental boards underwent a similar process of thermal destruction.