TECHNICAL NOTE: EFFECTS OF NANOCLAY ADDITION TO PHENOL-FORMALDEHYDE RESIN ON THE PERMEABILITY OF ORIENTED STRAND LUMBER

This note examined the effects of adding nanoclays to phenol-formaldehyde resin during the manufacture of oriented strand lumber (OSL) on its in-plane permeability The panels were made from mountain pine beetle (MPB) attacked lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) strands Three different montmorillonite nanoclays were mixed with the PF resin. Na+, hydrophobic organics modified 10A. and hydrophilic organics modified 30B None of the nanoclays changed the permeability of OSL significantly The MPB-OSL had higher in-plane permeability than those conventionally made from aspen, which indicated that the pressing time could be shorter for MPB-OSL compared with OSL made from MPB-free strands