Update 2021: The March issue of PanelWorld reports Great Plains MDF has selected a site in Kneehill County, Alberta, to build a new wheat-straw based MDF plant. (Other updates below.)
Soon - a canadian eco-friendly furniture panel
By the end of 1998, furniture manufacturers and their customers will breathe easier when a composite panel called Isobord (tm) will be introduced. It contains no formaldehyde resin which eliminates the environmental and indoor air problems associated with "ordinary" particleboard and MDF.
Produced with environmentally friendly "waste straw," the new panel has mechanical strength properties equal or superior to standard particle board (see sidebar). The production facility is under construction in Eli, Manitoba, and will use the latest blending process developed by Kvaerner Panel systems.
The panel is easy to machine and has a higher resistance to moisture than PB or MDF. It is light in colour with a fine textured surface, tight homogeneous core and is highly recommended for RTA furniture, kitchen cabinets and restaurant applications.
| Physical Properties of Panels | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO | PB | MDF | |
| Density lbs/cu.ft. | 42 | 45 | 50 |
| Modulus rupture (psi) | 3450 | 2103 | 3500 |
| Modulus elasticity (psi - thousands) | 592 | 326 | 350 |
| Screw holding face (lbs) | 252 | 225 | 325 |
| Screw holding edge (lbs) | 235 | 202 | 250 |
| Internal bond (psi) | 88 | 65 | 90 |
|
ISO = Isoboard (tm), PB = Standard particle board (M-2), MDF = Medium density fibreboard source of statistics: Isoboard (tm) and "typical" data for PB/MDF from National Particleboard Association | |||
update 2002: The plant is now owned by Dow BioProducts Ltd. who renamed the product Woodstalk.
update 2006: Dow BioProducts, a division of Dow Canada, will cease manufacture of Woodstalk™ from its plant in Elie, Manitoba, by December 31, 2005.
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