Use of Hardwood Species (Robinia pseudoaccacia from Short-rotation Plantations as Raw Material in Particleboards

The problem of climate change, coupled to the propagation of wood diseases (bark beetles for example), is leading to a shortage in softwood supply for the particleboard industries. Furthermore, the recent changes in the German forest policies which promote the conversion of coniferous forest into mixed stands are likely to enhance this phenomenon. There is, therefore, a growing need for research on possibilities of substituting the softwood with hardwood and other alternative material. For the first time, young six to seven years old Black locust (Robinia pseudoaccacia) stems from a short-rotation plantation were used at a laboratory scale with the objective of assessing the suitability of particleboard production. Four different variants were produced using different resin types: UF K350, UF K340, albumin, and PMDI, with a target density and thickness of 650 kg/m3 and 20 mm respectively for each board. The boards were tested regarding their mechanical (modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity and internal bonding), physical (water absorption and thickness swelling) properties according to the European standard (EN 310, EN 317 and EN 319), and their formaldehyde content and emission following the EN 120 and EN 717. Industrial particles were used as reference material for the purpose of comparison. Promising bending strength was obtained with UF resins-bonded boards. The modulus of elasticity of all four variants fulfilled the EN 2003 requirements. The internal bond of the UF resins-bonded boards also met the general product standard, with values above 0.35 N/mm2. The bending strength and the internal bonding strength properties of the UF-bonded boards were superior to that of the reference boards produced with the industrial particles. Based on these results, black locust is a potential substitute for softwood in particleboard production and can be used in the industry as alternative raw material for panel production.