Lee, Young-Kyu
(Indoor Air Quality Analysis Center, National Instrumentation Center for Environmental Management, Seoul National University)
Kim, Hyun-Joong
(Laboratory of Adhesion and Bio-Composites, Program in Environmental Materials Science, Seoul National University)
Wood composites are a hygroscopic material and have ability to exchange its moisture content with air. This study investigated the formaldehyde emission and moisture content change of four wood composites (particleboard (PB), medium density fiberboard (MDF), high density fiberboard (HDF), laminated HDF (L-HDF)) as a function of bake-out temperature and time. The composites were baked out for 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28 days at temperatures of $20{\pm}2$, $35{\pm}2$, and $50{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ in a dry oven. The moisture content change was used to determine the emission bake-out of the composites. Best bake-out time results were obtained with after 7 days all composites. Formaldehyde emission values of composites decreased with decreasing moisture content for both temperatures. The formaldehyde emission results of bake-out temperature 35 and $50^{\circ}C$ showed a similar tendency.