Fiberboards are frequently used in the furniture and construction industries, but their usability is limited by their inherent propensity to absorb water, causing dimensional instability. While hydrowax, a petroleum-based paraffin wax emulsion, is widely used as a water resistance enhancer, its fossil origin raises crucial questions about sustainability (Lorenz et al., 2021). Besides, hydrowax is not biodegradable and causes aerosolized effects when burned or during thermal processing, thereby polluting the environment (Khan et al., 2024). As the wood-based panel industry looks to mitigate this peculiar issue, bio-based hydrophobic additives have emerged as a key replacement. Tall oil distillation products (TODP), a biodegradable material rich in fatty and resin acids, is a by-product of bio-refinery that provides potential functional performance benefits and renewable sourcing (Lappi and Alén, 2012). According to earlier research, TODP can enhance biopolymers’ hydrophobicity both in cellulosic paper and fiberboard panels (Hosseinpourpia et al., 2019; Hosseinpourpia et al., 2020). However, previous reports were from laboratory experiments, necessitating the need for a pilot-scale and industrial trial. Specifically, its effect on water absorption, uptake, and thickness swelling characteristics compared to hydrowax is yet to be fully understood. Therefore, TODP is assessed in this study as a bio-based hydrophobic agent for manufacturing high density fibreboard (HDF), and its technical performance is contrasted with that of traditional hydrowax. Also, the present research supports the development of sustainable materials by establishing the water resistance and mechanical properties of HDF panels on the industrial scale using TODP-based hydrophobic agents.
Keywords: Hydrowax, Tall oil, Hydrophobic agent, High-density fibreboard
Authors
John Tosin Aladejana
Department of Forestry Wood Technology, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden
Sheikh Ali Ahmed
Department of Forestry Wood Technology, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden
Benjamin Voogt
Lawter Maastricht B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands
Valeri Naydenov
SunPine AB, Piteå, Sweden
Svante Nordänger
IKEA Industry AB, 215 32 Malmö, Sweden
Conrad Sala
IKEA Industry Poland Sp. z o.o., Orla, Poland
Piotr Koprowski
IKEA Industry Poland Sp. z o. o., Material Development Center Board – Industrial Strategies, Zbąszyń, Poland
Marta Balnaitis
Department of Forestry Wood Technology, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden
IKEA Industry Poland Sp. z o. o., Material Development Center Board – Industrial Strategies, Zbąszyń, Poland
Stergios Adamopoulos
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology, Uppsala, Sweden
Adrien Letoffe
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology, Uppsala, Sweden
Andreas Stephan
Department of Forestry Wood Technology, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden
Reza Hosseinpourpia
Department of Forestry Wood Technology, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden
College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States
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