Manufacturing medium-density fiberboards and wood fiber insulation boards using a blood albumin adhesive on a pilot scale

Abstract

An albumin adhesive derived from animal blood was used for the first time for the production of two kinds of fiberboard in a dry process: medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and wood fiber insulation board (WFI). Additionally, the curing for WFI was completed using an innovative hot-air/hot-steam (HA/HS) process. There is a general importance to develop alternatives to substitute common binding agents, such as urea-formaldehyde (UF) or polymeric methylene diphenylene diisocyanate (pMDI) resins, and to develop value-added opportunities for such waste material from slaughterhouses. An adhesive analysis was performed to understand the curing reaction of these protein adhesives, which showed good properties in regards to viscosity or gel time. The physical-mechanical results showed on the one hand that the albumin adhesive could compete with UF-bonded MDF regarding tensile strength and modulus of rupture in conformity to the European Standard, but it failed to meet requirements for thickness swelling. The albumin adhesive also can compete with pMDI bonded WFI regarding tensile and compression strength, but it showed non-viable results for short-term water absorption.