Ding et al. J Wood Sci (2020) 66:55 https://doi.org/10.1186/s10086-020-01896-x
Journal of Wood Science
Open Access
ORIGINAL ARTICLE A comparative study of morphological characteristics of medium-density fiberboard dust by sieve and image analyses Tao Ding 1 , Jiafeng Zhao 1 , Nanfeng Zhu 1* and Chengming Wang 2 Abstract Sanding dust is the main source of dust emission during the manufacturing process of medium-density fiberboard (MDF), and particle size and shape characteristics are the fundamental properties influencing its environmental influ- ence and handling behaviors. However, there are few deep and comprehensive researches on the morphology of MDF sanding dust. In this study, the morphological characteristics of MDF sanding dust were explored by sieve and image analyses. It was found that more than 95% of MDF sanding dust was inhalable particles smaller than 100 μm, which poses a considerable potential risk to human health and safety, especially with the presence of other chemi- cal constituents. The particle size span of MDF dust was relatively wide though the particle surface texture was quite uniform. The particle geometric proportion represented by aspect ratio decreased markedly with the reduction of particle size. The larger particles presented typical anisotropic structure, while the smaller ones showed homogene- ous appearance, indicating quite complex handling behaviors. In addition, image analysis was found to provide a better insight into the morphological characteristics of MDF sanding dust compared to sieve analysis, and could be a promising dust morphology evaluation technology. Keywords: Medium-density fiberboard, Sanding dust, Particle size, Particle shape, Sieve analysis, Image analysis
output of 300 thousand m 3 . Although dust collecting and conveying systems have been equipped in most MDF mills, the system failures or safety accidents still occur occasionally. The handling of sanding dust affects penal grade, envi- ronmental quality and workplace safety of MDF manu- facturing. If sanding dust had not been smoothly sucked into suction hoods, sand belts would be clogged, which would in turn deteriorate sanding quality and become the main reason for the failure of sand belts [3]. The MDF particles leaked into the air are responsible for respiratory diseases among continuously exposed work- ers. Wood dust is classified as carcinogenic to humans [4], and MDF dust is more hazardous as MDF is usually impregnated with urea–formaldehyde (UF) resin. The chemical composition makes it a source of formalde- hyde exposure [5]. MDF dust was reported to cause more nasal symptoms among workers than solid wood dust [6]. Sanding dust particles are regarded as the finest dust in
Introduction Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) is a wood-based panel product made primarily from wood fibers, which are bonded together by synthetic resins under heat and pressure. MDF is a prominent nonstructural composite widely used in furniture and cabinet industries. In 2017, the world’s fiberboard output surpassed 118 million m 3 , and China alone contributed about 60 million m 3 [1]. Panel sanding is a critical operation in the finishing stage of MDF manufacturing because it determines both the thickness and surface quality of the product. Large amounts of dust are generated in MDF sanding process, and the dust load could be as high as 53.67 kg/m 3 [2], which means 50t sanding dust may have to be handled every day in a typical modern MDF mill with an annual
*Correspondence: znanf@njfu.edu.cn 1 Nanjing Forestry University, 159 Longpan Rd., Nanjing 210037, China Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
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