Emissions during combustion of particleboard and glued veneer

The combustion of particleboard and glued veneer was studied in order to evaluate if there are any negative effects on the environment from incineration of waste with adhesive. The particleboard was made with urea formaldehyde (UF) resin and the veneers were glued with different types of adhesives, UF, polyvinyl acetate, emulsion polymer isocyanate (EPI), melamine urea formaldehyde (MUF) and phenol resorcinol formaldehyde. The combustion tests were carried out in a fluidised sand bed reactor with a good oxygen supply at temperatures between 500°C and 1000°C for particleboard and at 750°C and 850°C for glued veneer. The emissions were compared with the emissions from combustion of pure wood and pellets made from wood. The results show that the emissions from both particleboard and glued veneer are similar to the emissions from pure wood. The only main difference is that the nitrogen oxide (NO_x) is increased when particleboard and nitrogen-containing adhesives, like UF, EPI and MUF, are combusted. The nitrogen from the adhesive is only to a minor extent converted to NO_x, e.g. only 4% of the nitrogen in particleboard gives NO_x.