Plywood has multiple applications in various fields and plays a significant role in the Latvian woodworking industry. The plywood consumption is growing in the European Community and Latvia. The volume of plywood import is increasing more than double in Latvia at 2006. New players come and plays significant role in the Latvian market of plywood – Chile and China with cheap products.
Some imported plywood from Chile and China are analysed in this research. Five types of imported plywood (species: pine radiate, populus sp. and betula sp.) taken form retail shops in Latvia were tested and compared with birch plywood made in Latvia. The test results show that all plywood formaldehyde release corresponds to E1 class requirements. The imported plywood’s mechanical properties (bending and bonding quality) are below the Latvian birch plywood’s mechanical properties.
Keywords: wood-based panels, strength, modulus of elasticity, bonding quality, formaldehyde release
Authors
Zudrags K.
Department of Wood Processing, Latvian University of Agriculture, Jelgava
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