Effect of Palm Kernel Meal as Melamine Urea Formaldehyde Adhesive Extender for Plywood application: Using a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) Study

Increased demand for wood adhesives, environmental concerns, and the uncertainty of continuing availability of petrochemicals have led to recent attention on protein-based adhesives. This study was conducted to investigate the physico-chemical interaction of palm kernel meal (PKM) with melamine urea formaldehyde (MUF) resins in adhesive formulation by using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. The effect of hot press on PKM extender has been investigated by FTIR and blue shift is observed due to the hot press indicating that the functional groups (such as C=O, -OH and NH) are become more free in the samples. In the case of PKM-MUF blend bonding interactions observed where, PKM played the role as an extender. Red shift of C=O and N-H groups stretching in PKM-MUF-Wood blend is observed which suggests the interaction of these functional groups through hydrogen bonding. The results suggest that PKM extender-based MUF adhesive resins have potential application for the production of exterior plywood.