Making ultra-thin high density fiberboard using old corrugated container with kraft lignin

Abstract

Ultra-thin high-density fiberboards (HDFs), a newly developed variety of fiberboards, broaden and extend the applications of medium thick medium- and high-density fiberboards and are capable of replacing cardboards for most applications. Old corrugated container (OCC) is an important packaging solid waste. The mechanical strength of OCC deteriorates after repeated recycling processes. Application of OCC fibers for value-added ultra-thin HDFs can be of much interest. Because the OCC fibers have more surface area than the wood particles, the resin coverage per surface area of the OCC is much lower than wood particles during panel board formation. Therefore, the performance of the OCC fiber-based board is poor and the resin adhesive consumption is high. To overcome these problems, a novel method of using OCC to make ultra-thin HDFs was developed and investigated. In this work, the OCC was shredded and pulped before making the ultra-thin HDFs. To protect consumers from exposure to harmful formaldehyde, kraft lignin was used as a binder. The target density and thickness of the ultra-thin HDFs were 1.0 kg/m3 and 2 mm respectively. The resulting ultra-thin HDFs were evaluated for their physical and mechanical properties. Comparisons with the Chinese Standards