PlasmaSpan
Plasma treatment of wood chips under atmospheric pressure for the development of particleboard with low emission potential
This project’s objective is to improve the gluing process of wood chips in the production of particle board by means of plasma treatment. A plasma treatment under atmospheric pressure hydrophilizes the surface of the wood chips so that the applied glue wets the surface better. As a result, better adhesion between wood and adhesive is achieved. Furthermore, a plasma treatment can shorten the curing time of glues since the penetration of liquid media into the interior of the wood is accelerated. A reduction in the curing times and/or amount of glue can compensate for the increased production costs due to the use of low-emission adhesives. On the other hand, it is also possible, while maintaining product characteristics, to reduce the amount of conventional formaldehyde condensation adhesives used so that the current emission standards are met.
Furthermore, the mechanical and technological properties of the end product can be improved with the same amount of adhesive used. Through improved wetting of the wood chips with the adhesive, the mechanical properties of the board perpendicular to the board plane (transverse tensile strength) can be improved. Since the transverse tensile strength of particleboard depends not only on the quantity and quality of gluing, but also on its density, particleboard can be produced with a significantly lower bulk density by increasing the gluing quality.