Environmentally friendly plywood panels were produced by a hot-pressing process using magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) as a no-added formaldehyde adhesive. Magnesium oxychloride cement binders were prepared with different molar ratios of MgO:MgCl2 (M/C) and H2O:MgCl2 (W/C) ranging from 6 to 12 and 15 to 21, respectively, for plywood production. The binder properties measured were gel time, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transom infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The quality of the plywood panels was analyzed based on their mechanical (shear and bending) and physical (thickness swelling and water absorption) properties. A positive effect on the properties of the MOC binder as well as on the properties of the plywood was observed by increasing the molar ratio M/C up to a value of 9. The shear and flexural properties of the plywood specimens were negatively affected by further increasing the molar ratio M/C to 12 and the molar ratio W/C from 15 to 21. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed a peak temperature of less than 100 °C for MOC curing, which meets the requirements of hot press technology. No delamination of the plywood specimens was observed after 24 h immersion in tap water or 6 h immersion in boiling water and after a cyclic delamination test. In general, mineral-bonded plywood with magnesium oxychloride shows promising properties for indoor and outdoor use, although the binder quality should still be improved.
Keywords: hot-press; magnesium oxide; mineral binder; no-added formaldehyde; petroleum-free binder; plywood.