TREATMENT OF FORMALDEHYDE LADEN WOOD PANELS TO REDUCE EXCESS FORMALDEHYDE

摘要

A substantial reduction of free excess formaldehyde in formaldehyde laden wood panels is achieved by coating at least one side of the panel with a salt solution containing an ammonium cation such as a 10-15% aqueous solution of ammonium bicarbonate. After coating, a barrier is placed over the coated surface such as by stacking a plurality of similarly coated panels with the barrier being maintained sufficiently long to allow ammonia gas generated from normal degradation of the ammonium salt to migrate to the free formaldehyde zone where the ammonia gas reacts with the formaldehyde to produce a stable, low volatility reaction product. The treatment may be applied to raw or finished panels and the generated ammonia gas reacts in the stacked panels with formaldehyde in both the glue lines and the formaldehyde based finish topcoating.