Pyrolysis of medium density fiberboard impregnated with phenol-formaldehyde resin

Woodceramics (WCS) are new porous carbon materials that have been shown to possess many excellent properties, but the chemical mechanism during pyrolysis has not been reported yet. In order to investigate this process, pyrolysis of medium density fiberboard (MDF) was analyzed by thermogravimetry coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) in this study. The results showed that the pyrolysis consisted of three stages up to 700°C. The first stage of the pyrolysis occurred below 240.0°C and was mainly due to moisture evaporation. The second stage between 240.0° and 390.2°C accompanied the main mass loss. The maximum pyrolysis speed (mass loss) was about 3.79% per minute at 313.2°C. This was believed to coincide with the cleavage of ether bridges between the wood material and phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin, and pyrolysis of carbohydrate. At higher temperature, the pyrolysis of PF resin and lignin was the main reason for the mass loss in the third stage. The microcosmic environments of both the MDF and PF resin in the MDF treated with PF resin were different from the untreated MDF and PF resin, so that the temperatures at which their pyrolysis occurred and the quantities of evolved gases were different. During the process of WCS preparation, the rate of temperature increase should be very slow before it reaches 700°C, especially at around 313.2°C, at which point violent pyrolysis occurs. Such temperature control should allow uniform sintering of the sample and should reduce flaws in the product.