
Fiberboard (
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...
) or fibreboard (
Commonwealth English
The use of the English language in current and former Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, countries of Commonwealth of Nations, the Commonwealth was largely inherited from British Empire, British colonisation, with some exceptions. Eng ...
) is a type of
engineered wood
Engineered wood, also called mass timber, composite wood, man-made wood, or manufactured board, includes a range of derivative wood products which are manufactured by binding or fixing the strands, particles, fibres, veneers, or boards of wood, ...
product that is made out of
wood fibers. Types of fiberboard (in order of increasing density) include
particle board or low-density fiberboard (LDF),
medium-density fiberboard (MDF), and
hardboard or high-density fiberboard (HDF).
It is sometimes used as a synonym for particle board, but particle board usually refers to low-density fiberboard.
Plywood is not a type of fiberboard, as it is made of thin sheets of wood, not wood fibers or particles. Fiberboard, particularly medium-density fiberboard, is heavily used in the
furniture
Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...
industry. For pieces that will be visible, a
veneer of
wood
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
is often glued onto fiberboard to give it the appearance of conventional wood.
In the
packaging
Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coo ...
industry, the term "fiberboard" is often used to describe
cardboard, a tough
kraft-based
paperboard or
corrugated fiberboard for boxes.
"Fiberboard" is also an intermediate product, an output of a
pulp mill used as input for a
paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...
.
Manufacture
Fiberboard manufacture begins with wood chipping: fresh or recycled wood material is cut and sorted to small pieces of similar size. Chips are washed to remove things such as dirt and sand. Metal scraps such as nails can be removed with a magnet placed over a conveyor belt on which the chips move forward. In the case of, for example, MDF (medium density fiberboard) and not particle board, chips are then steamed to soften them for
defibration. Small amount of
paraffin wax
Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and melting poi ...
is added to the steamed chips and they are transformed into fluffy fibers in a defibrator and soon afterwards sprayed with adhesives such as
urea-formaldehyde (UF) or
Phenol formaldehyde resin (PF). Wax prevents fibers from clumping together during storage. Chips in the case of particle board are also sprayed with a suitable adhesive before the next steps. Fibers or chips are arranged into a uniform "mat" on a conveyor belt. This mat is pre-compressed and then hot-pressed. Hot-pressing activates the adhesive and glues the fibers or chips together. Board is then cooled, trimmed, sanded and maybe
veneered or
laminated.
UF resins are dominantly used in the MDF industry because of their low cost and fast curing characteristics. However, pressures on the use of UF resins are mounting steadily due to potential problems associated with
formaldehyde emission. On the other hand, PF resins are more durable and do not emit formaldehyde after cure. The industry has traditionally shied away from using PF resins due primarily to their higher cost and much slower curing rate than UF resins. However, the press times for PF-bonded fiberboard can be substantially reduced by manipulating the fiber mat temperatures, molecular weight distribution of PF resins and pressing parameters. As a result, the press times for PF-bonded fiberboard can be made comparable to those for UF-bonded fiberboard. Also, the resin content required for PF-bonded fiberboard is less than 5% to achieve a good board quickly. This is considerably lower than that required for UF-bonded fiberboard.
Certain types of fiberboard can be considered "green" building products. Consisting of bio-based, secondary raw materials (wood chip or sugarcane fibers) recovered from within of manufacturing facilities, the binding agent used in this type of fiberboard is an all-natural product, consisting of vegetable starch containing no added formaldehydes.
Use
Fiberboard, classified by
ASTM
ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is a standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical international standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems and s ...
C208, Standard Specification for Cellulosic Fiber Insulating Board, has many benefits and is used in residential and commercial construction.
Applications include:
* sound proofing/deadening
* structural sheathing
* low-slope roofing
* sound deadening flooring underlayment
Fiberboard is also used in the automotive industry to create free-form shapes such as dashboards, rear parcel shelves, and inner door shells. These pieces are usually covered with a skin, foil, or fabric such as cloth, suede, leather, or
polyvinyl chloride
Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons of ...
.
''RSI Direct'', a bi-weekly
e-newsletter covering the roofing, siding and insulation industries, promotes the use of fiberboard as a coverboard in roof systems:
More than two billion square feet of this product have been installed in the U.S. roofing market.
Recycle
Currently, there is no commercially available method to recycle fibreboard, and
landfilling and burning for energy are the main disposal methods.
The challenges of recycling fibreboard include:
* Sorting fibreboard waste
* Reduced fibre properties
* Contaminants in recycled materials
* Economical considerations
See also
*
Beaverboard
*
Corrugated fiberboard
*
Hardboard
*
Homasote
*
Masonite
*
Oriented strand board
*
Paperboard
*
Particle board
*
Plywood
*
Pressed wood
References
External links
Composite Panel Association
European Panel FederationFiberboard Sheathingat InspectApedia.com, identification, types, composition, history
{{Authority control
Engineered wood
Building materials