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A FORMALDEHYDE-FREE RESIN FOR ENGINEERED WOOD COMPOSITES AND OTHER APPLICATIONS
RESINS / GLUES IN USE
Worldwide, now-a-days in the industry, Amino-formaldehyde / Urea- formaldehyde (UF) based resins are the best performing on the basis of cost and ease of use. Urea-Melamine resins offer water resistance with more Melamine offering higher resistance. It is typically used in external applications, with the colored resin darkening the panel. Other improved versions like, Resorcinol resins can be mixed with Phenolic resins (Phenol-formaldehyde, PF), but that is more often used with Marine plywood applications. In addition, more recently, few other non-formaldehyde resins have been introduced; these include, Polymethylene diphenyl diisocyanate (pMDI), Epoxy resin, or Poly vinyl chloride (PVC).
Particleboard or chipboard is manufactured by mixing wood particles or flakes together with a Resin and forming the mixture into a sheet. Resin is then sprayed as a fine mist onto the particles. Any of the above Resin would be used depending on various factors like nature of use, type of particle board including thickness, cost, etc.
The formed sheets are cold-compressed and then compressed again, under pressures between 2 and 3 megapascals (290 and 440 psi) and temperatures between 140 and 220 °C (284 and 428 °F) to set and harden the glue.
The boards are then cooled, trimmed and sanded. They can then be sold as raw board, or surface improved through the addition of a wood veneer, or laminate surface.
The much lower cost of sheet goods (particle board, medium density fiberboard, and other engineered wood products) has helped to displace solid wood from many cabinetry applications. 90% of Particle boards manufactured worldwide make use of Urea-formaldehyde resin as the glue for lowering the cost.
THE SAFETY FACTOR CONCERNS ABOUT FORMALDEHYDE RESINS
Safety concerns exist for both manufacturing and use. Fine dust and chemicals are released when particleboard is machined (e.g., sawing or routing). Cutting particle board can release formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide in the case of amino resins, and phenol in the case of phenol-formaldehyde resins.
The other safety concern is the slow release of formaldehyde over time. Concerns about the high indoor levels of formaldehyde in new manufactured homes led the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to set construction standards (in 1984). Particle board (PB), Medium density fiberboard (MDF), Oriented strand board (OSB), and laminated flooring have been major sources of formaldehyde emissions. Thereupon, PB and MDF became available in “no added formaldehyde” (NAF) labels, but were not in common use as of 2015. Many other building materials such as furniture finish, carpeting and caulking give off formaldehyde, as well as urea-formaldehyde foam insulation, which is banned in Canada for installation in a residential closed cavity wall. Formaldehyde has been classified by the WHO as a known human carcinogen.
THE NEW RESIN FROM WATER HYACINTH – ONLY CELLULOSE
Poly fibrillated cellulose Resin (pFC), generated from Water hyacinth through the patented process, contains almost 100% CELLULOSE and NO FORMALDEHYDE. Hence, any Particle board, Chip Board, or Tiles manufactured would be 100% SAFE (from Formaldehyde), and GREEN.
PROPOSAL OVERVIEW
The proposed project is for the manufacture of Fibrillated cellulose containing pulp that can be converted into Particle board, Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF), Chip board, Floor tiles, etc., where the Fibrillated Cellulose Resin will act as the binding material / glue for the fillers like saw-dust or clay, thereby the product can be used in many applications substituting wood, plywood, plastic or FRP.
The most important aspect of the process, [which is modified form of a patented Process (India Patent No. 244800)], is that the raw material for the process is the plant material, Water hyacinth.
The technology utilizes Water hyacinth for manufacturing wood substitutes, namely: 1) Particle board / Chip board, with Lamination,
2) Medium Density Fiber board (MDF),
3) Floor tiles,
4) Wall tiles, and
5) Ceiling boards.
Particle board, Chip board, etc., can be laminated with Melamine-formaldehyde resin, wood veneer or some other novel surface coating to suit any specific properties, like Fire resistance, abrasion resistance, surface smoothness, color, designs, etc.
(There is NO CONTENT OF FORMALDEHYDE that can EVOLVE, in any of these products)
With the discovery of petroleum, the world had seen a drastic shift from the natural, environment-friendly materials of general use, to the synthetic, petroleum-based, but environment damaging and polluting products. Through the last 50 years, the world could experience the negative impacts of these products. Now, the human race is after corrective measures; as part of the campaign, scientists are in search of a substitute for plastics for use in everyday life. In this regard, the scientists are trying to find materials derived from starch, a natural product, to substitute plastic, especially as packing and packaging materials. The material, which we have developed, belongs to this class, in a way.
In the Patented Process being utilized by Pentoreum Innovations Pvt. Ltd., all the components of Water hyacinth plant is used, practically removing only the water content. The raw materials are sourced from mature plants by collector / harvesting machines now available, or
manually. Now-a-days, different types of systems are employed, from simple collectors to those with additional chopping and / or grinding mechanisms.
END PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS
The following are the end products that can be generated / manufactured from the Water hyacinth by the modified Process, and would be an input into other industries, especially in construction and housing.
The pulp obtained from the Modified Process consists of a gelatinous mass of cellulose nanofiber and macro-fiber of the Water hyacinth plants. The water content is reduced by filtration or centrifugation. The pulp thus obtained is then mixed with other required materials as per the quality needed and dried in molds to the end-product.
[A dried sheet of the Poly-fibrillated cellulose Resin of 0.35 mm average thickness (and having no other additives), has a tensile strength of 29 N/mm2; the elongation at break point for the material is 17.93% and the measured modulus at various elongations are: 5% – 13.90 N/mm2, 10% – 21.93 N/mm2 and 15%- 26.96/V/mm2].
Tests including Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) of the gelatinous mass as well as the dried sheets/films, and the physical properties have shown that the material generated contains fibrillated cellulose fiber and also, cellulose nanofiber. Cellulose Nanofiber is now being made from wood pulp through the “Electrospinning” process, using certain organic solvents for dissolving the cellulose fiber and then passing the solution of cellulose through tiny pores under very high electric potential. In our process, instead of wood, or petroleum-based plastics / resins, or even glass fiber, Water hyacinth, the polluting noxious plant, which contains Cellulose only, is made use of.
The major drawback is the lower yield, of about 5%, by mass of the product. But Fibrillated cellulose fiber as well as Cellulose nanofiber in the pulp act like monomers for the formation of a polymer network, like other organic polymers, ie., polyethylene, polystyrene, PVC, and the resins, namely, phenol-formaldehyde or urea-formaldehyde (which are the polymers used in particle board, chip board or similar pressed boards). The pulp then mixed with the filler, which can be another wood- waste like saw dust, or china clay, etc., is polymerized in suitable molds to produce the end product.
The Particulate Materials used for forming the composite are:
Wood chips used to produce Chip board,
Powdered Saw dust, wood powder, or dried, chopped and crushed water hyacinth, can give particle board or MDF, and
China clay can give very hard boards, that can be used as floor, ceiling and wall Tiles, with suitable thickness.
Other modifications are also possible with filler variations and use of suitable moulds.
The process requires NO high temperature and very high pressure, as required in the polymerization for the particle boards which uses synthetic resins.
The logistics for the manufacture has to be developed for minimum mass transportation of the raw material, as water can be partially eliminated at the source itself.
CURRENT STATUS
PROCESS AND PRODUCT PATENTS
TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY
The technology as explained already is comparatively simple, with minimal energy requirement. Further, due to large-scale availability, the cost of the raw material would be very low. In fact, removal of the Water hyacinth, the material that we require, is great help to humanity, especially for those who are dependent on such water bodies, and indirectly to the humanity at large. [According to data available with the UN and different Governments, hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of water resources are covered with this invasive plant and their quantity is alarmingly increasing]. [References on Water hyacinth menace and images on Water hyacinth menace: Special notification issued (April 2013) by United Nations Environmental Program, titled ‘Global Environmental Alert Service, GEAS’].
The cellulose nanofiber, (which is also obtained alongwith Fibrillated cellulose) now manufactured and utilized is derived from wood and some other dry farm wastes like wheat, maize and waste cotton, with the help of organic solvents and high electric potential, electro-spinning process. But in our Process, only aqueous solution is employed, using non- toxic catalysts. After the process, the catalyst materials may be removed by washing before molding, but in the manufacture of these boards the washing can be avoided, and so the derived product is non-toxic and ‘green’.
TEM studies show that the aqueous suspension (gelatinous) of the product contains fibrillated cellulose fiber and cellulose nanofiber having diameter of 2 — 50 nm (nanometer); reaction conditions can provide varying quantities with more specific qualities of the nanofiber content.
MARKET FEASIBILITY
The material as mentioned, prepared from an invasive weed, with the qualities of a “green”, environment friendly product will be of great demand. The boards manufactured find application in the construction / housing industry for substituting costly wood, metal, fiberglass reinforced plastic, and other plastics.
With some modifications like lamination with Melamine, wood veneer, or other modern novel coatings, can find extensive use in the production of tables, cup-boards, partitions, floor, ceiling and wall paneling, etc., as heat insulation materials for pipelines, as sound dampening material for auditoriums, automobile, electronic, electrical, and other manufacturing industries, as packing material for various industrial products, etc.
More importantly, just like cellulose nanofiber, this material can be made use of in advanced scientific gadgets and equipment. Simpler technology of manufacture and greater availability can enable the scientists to make a good number of new products.
The products being perfectly natural, eco-friendly and biodegradable, these are excellent substitutes for most of the present-day plastic and synthetic products in use universally. In all advanced countries as well as in developing countries, one of the major problems confronting environmentalists is the non- biodegradability of the present-day bottles, plates and packing materials. The hazards caused by these synthetic and plastic materials are very many. PVC is known to cause carcinoma bladder; lead or chromium in the plastics causes a lot of diseases including impotency; allergy related diseases, especially for the skin, are very common among those using plastic/synthetic products. In short, what we intend to produce on a large scale is tomorrow’s necessity.
One most important factor to be considered is the reduction in the use of plastics. The products that are generated would be the ideal substitute for plastic and paper. The introduction of the material would reduce the demand on petroleum, petrochemicals and, softwood also.
The very important aspect of the process is the production of Cellulose nanofiber, which is now being accepted as the genuine material to replace and find use in many a nature- friendly application. The future industries will be mainly relying on nanotechnology, in which a major part will be of cellulose nanofiber and poly fibrillated cellulose resin. The nanotechnology industry is expected to have an investment of $2.5 trillion by 2025 and a good portion should belong to fibrillated cellulose – cellulose nanofiber materials.
The world is after eco-friendly consumer items and this is especially true in the case of items of everyday use. In the USA the piling up of coke bottles over the years has become a great hazard on account of their bio-non-degradability. The threat forced the Du Pont Company to invent a biodegradable plastic material and they have somewhat succeeded in developing a plastic that can 30
degrade in five years’ time. All major automobile manufacturers like of Daimler Benz are currently emphasizing close to 100% recyclability of the materials that go into the production of vehicles. In other words, pile up of non-degradable materials on the surface of the earth is sure to adversely affect health and living conditions of human beings and others on the planet. To start controlling this happening, industries all over the world are in the search of natural materials to substitute as many synthetic materials in use as possible. It is in this background that the promoters took up the present program of finding methods and techniques to produce various consumer items from waste materials, especially, weeds and other natural plant materials.
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