Utilization of pine (Pinus pinea L.) cone in manufacture of wood based composite

Physical and mechanical properties of medium density fiberboards (MDF) made from various mixtures of wood fibers and stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) cones were evaluated using European standards. MDF panels were manufactured using standardized procedures that simulated industrial production at the laboratory. Six panel types were made from mixtures of wood fiber/cone flour, 100/0, 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, and 50/50 percents, respectively. Addition of the cone flour into the MDF significantly reduced formaldehyde emission from the panel. In addition, the addition of 10% cone flour also improved water resistance of the MDF panels made using urea–formaldehyde (UF) resin. However, further addition of the cone flour into the panel negatively influenced their water resistance. Flexural properties and internal bond strength decreased with the increase of cone flour content in the panel. The UF resin is the main source of formaldehyde emission from the UF-bonded wood-based panels. Depending on addition of the cone flour in the panels, the formaldehyde emission values ranged from 2.6% to 55.3% lower than the panels made from 100% wood fiber. Based on the findings obtained from this study, pine cone can be used as a renewable biological formaldehyde catcher as an alternative to the traditional formaldehyde catchers for E1 Class MDF manufacture.