Open Access

ARTICLE

Impregnated Paper-Based Decorative Laminates Prepared from Lignin-Substituted Phenolic Resins

Marion Thébault¹, Ya Li¹, Christopher Beuc¹, Stephan Frömel-Frybort^1,2, Edith-Martha Zikulnig-Rusch¹, Larysa Kutuzova³, Andreas Kandelbauer^3,*

1 Kompetenzzentrum Holz (Wood K Plus), Altenberger Straße 69, A-4040, Linz, Austria
2 University of Life Sciences and Natural Resources (BOKU), Universitäts-und Forschungszentrum Tulln (UFT), Tulln, A-3430, Austria
3 Reutlingen University, Lehr- und Forschungszentrum Process Analysis & Technology (PA&T), School of Applied Chemistry, Reutlingen, D-72762, Germany

* Corresponding Author: Andreas Kandelbauer. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Renewable and Biosourced Adhesives)

Journal of Renewable Materials 2020, 8(10), 1181-1198. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2020.09755

Received 03 February 2020; Accepted 13 July 2020; Issue published 31 August 2020

Abstract

High Pressure Laminates (HPL) panels consist of stacks of self-gluing paper sheets soaked with phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins. An important requirement for such PFs is that they must rapidly penetrate and saturate the paper pores. Partially substituting phenol with bio-based phenolic chemicals like lignin changes the physico-chemical properties of the resin and affects its ability to penetrate the paper. In this study, PF formulations containing different proportions of lignosulfonate and kraft lignin were used to prepare paper-based laminates. The penetration of a Kraft paper sheet was characterized by a recently introduced, new device measuring the conductivity between both sides of the paper sheet after a drop of resin was placed on the surface and allowed to penetrate the sheet. The main target value measured was the time required for a specific resin to completely penetrate the defined paper sample (“penetration time”). This penetration time generally depends on the molecular weight distribution, the flow behavior and the polarity of the resin which in turn are dependent on the manufacturing conditions of the resin. In the present study, the influences of the three process factors: (1) type of lignin material used for substitution, (2) lignin modification by phenolation and (3) degree of phenol substitution on the penetration times of various lignin-phenolic hybrid impregnation resins were studied using a complete twolevel three-factorial experimental design. Thin laminates made with the resins diluted in methanol were mechanically tested in terms of tensile and flexural strains, and their cross-sections were studied by light microscopy.

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