Characteristics on indoor air pollutant emission from wood-based flooring by environmental-friendly natural adhesive using CNSL

To discuss the reduction of formaldehyde and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from engineered flooring, cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL)-formaldehyde (CF) resin and CF/PVAc resin were applied for the maple face of the veneer bonding on plywood. The CF resin was used to replace urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin in the formaldehyde-based resin system in order to reduce formaldehyde and VOC emissions from the adhesives used between the plywoods and fancy veneers. For the CF/PVAc resins, 5, 10, 20 or 30% of PVAc was added to the CF resin. The CF/PVAc resins showed better bonding than the commercial natural tannin adhesive with a higher level of wood penetration. The standard formaldehyde emission test and a VOC analyzer were used to determine the formaldehyde and VOC emissions, respectively, from the engineered floorings. The CF resin and CF/PVAc resin systems with UV coating satisfied the E1 and E0 grades of the Korean Standard. TVOC emission was slightly increased by the PVAc addition.