Properties of wheat straw particleboards bonded with different types of resin

Wheat straw particleboard bonded with a urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin, usually employed in the manufacture of wood-based particleboards, or with a resin based on epoxidised oil was manufactured using a compression molding machine. The effects of resin type on internal bond strength, flexural modulus, and thickness swelling were examined. The properties of boards using UF resins were poor. Internal bond strength and thickness swelling, linked to adhesion quality, were especially low. The high compatibility between straw particles and oil-based resin was explained in terms of straw surface free energy. In straw, this parameter exhibits a much lower polar component than wood species and leads to higher compatibility with resins based on oil than with water-soluble systems like UF.