Development of Boron Based Additive for Medium Density Fibreboards with Improved Flame Retardancy

Medium density fibreboards (MDF)s are one of the most common wood based panels with aesthetical and functional advantages. They have very versatile usage areas such as furniture, cabinets, shelves, floorings, doors and door frames. However, wood fibres are not resistant to flame that limits application areas. To overcome this problem, a novel flame retardant additive was synthesized that based on boric acid. Medium density fibreboards were pressed with the addition of developed chemical at laboratory scale and compared with non-treated sample. Flame retardant MDFs were successfully pressed without compromising of any mechanical properties such as internal bond and bending strength. Only, the swelling behavior should be developed with water repellency agents like paraffin. In addition, this flame retardant helps to reduce formaldehyde content and acts as formaldehyde scavenger. Thermal properties of medium density fibreboards have been determined by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Furthermore, the attitude of combustion was investigated by cone calorimetry method to determine the fire behaviour. According to results, the developed additive has a potential for flame retardancy in wood based panel industry.