Statistical evaluation of the effect of urea-formaldehyde resins synthesis parameters on particleboard properties

This work discusses the optimization of different synthesis parameters for a low emitting urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin. Industrially, this resin was synthesized using the alkaline-acid process (alkaline methylolation and acidic condensation) at different values of pH, temperature (T) and final viscosity and characterized according to different analytical methods. Particleboards (PBs) were produced using different pressing times and characterized according to the standard tests. A statistical analysis (ANOVA) was performed, and the main conclusion is that small changes on the synthesis of resins parameters do not affect the performance of PBs.