Heat post-treatment to reduce thickness swelling of particleboard from fast-growing poplars

Abstract

According to the high thickness swelling and low dimensional stability of Poplars particleboard, this paper studied the effect of heat post-treatment on the board properties. The results indicated that the post-treatment could be a very effective way to produce dimensinaly stable fast-growing poplars particleboard. The thickness swelling of the board decreased with increasing the time and temperatures of post-heat treatment. So under 190°C, being treated for 15 min, the total thickness swelling (TS₁) of the board was 8.96%, reduced by 22.88%. The irreversible thickness swelling (TS₂) was also reduced with the post-treatment of 190 °C or 220 °C; The reversible thickness swelling (TS₃) was not significantly changed when the time of treatment increased up to 25 min, under 190 °C.