Formaldehyde Release from Plywood Manufactured with Two Types of Urea Formaldehyde Resins after Fire Retardant Treatment of Veneers

In the present study, it was aimed to investigate the formaldehyde release of plywood panels manufactured from beech, poplar, alder and scots pine veneers treated with 5 % aqueous solutions of commonly used fi re retardants: zinc borate, boric acid, monoammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate. Two types of urea formaldehyde (UF) resin with different free formaldehyde ratios (0.16 % and 0.20 %) in adhesive were used as adhesive. Formaldehyde release of plywood panels was determined according to fl ask method described in EN 717-3 standard. As a result of this study, it was found that formaldehyde release from panels produced by beech, poplar, alder and scots pine veneers treated with zinc borate and boric acid were higher than those of control panels, while lower formaldehyde release was obtained for panels treated with monoammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate. This is valid for all four wood species. Treatment of monoammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate caused considerable reduction in formaldehyde emission from manufactured plywood panels. In some usage areas, where high strength properties are not expected, plywood panels manufactured from veneers treated with monoammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate may be used for reducing formaldehyde release.