Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of Determining Formaldehyde Release from Wood-based Panels Using the Climate Chamber Method

The formaldehyde emission climatic chamber method can simulate the use environment of wood products and is a non-destructive test. It has become the most authoritative method for evaluating the formaldehyde emission of wood products. The formaldehyde emission climatic chamber method is usually used as the arbitration method for formaldehyde emission detection; Equipment requirements are high, time-consuming and costly. The dryer method has low cost, short operation time and good reproducibility of detection; however, destructive inspection of wood products is required, and it is not suitable for the detection of irregularly shaped products. Mostly used for quality control of plywood, blockboard and other wood-based panels.

The perforation extraction method, as a method for determining the formaldehyde content of fiberboard and particleboard, has been recognized internationally, and its operation is fast and the test is reproducible. The disadvantage is that the highly toxic solvent toluene is used in the test. This method is more suitable for evaluating the total amount of formaldehyde in wood-based panels. The gas analysis method accelerates the release of formaldehyde in wood products by increasing the ambient temperature, thereby quickly measuring the formaldehyde release of the sample. This method is simple and time-consuming; however, special equipment is required, which increases the cost of detection.