Possibility of Use of NCC Reinforced Melamine-Urea-Formaldehyde Adhesive in Plywood Manufacturing

The possibility of using nanocellulose (NCC) as a filling substance for melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) adhesive was investigated for the process of manufacturing plywood. The adhesive mixtures were prepared with various nanocellulose concentrations. The amount of introduced filler had a significant effect on both resin and plywood characteristics. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) did not show any major changes between experimental and reference variants. The viscosity of resin increased after the introduction of nanocellulose. The addition of NCC in the amount of 5 g and 10 g per 100 g of solid resin led to an improvement in bonding quality, modulus of elasticity and bending strength. Further increase of NCC concentration caused a deterioration of manufactured plywood properties. In summary, the addition of proper amount of nanocellulose resulted in manufacturing plywood with improved properties.