Formaldehyde release floor company's pain

Flooring formaldehyde is still a major pain point for major floor companies. For the “zero formaldehyde” that appears on the flooring and other building materials markets, the merchants frankly stated that “zero formaldehyde” is not completely free from formaldehyde, but is realized on the basis of natural materials. Formaldehyde "zero added".

Starch production of adhesives to reduce pollution The reporter learned that due to the public's high concern for formaldehyde content, many flooring building products displayed the "zero formaldehyde" sign to show their superior environmental performance, thus winning customer attention.

But what exactly is "zero formaldehyde"? Can flooring materials really be completely free of formaldehyde? A person in charge said that "zero formaldehyde" is not completely free from formaldehyde, because the air itself contains formaldehyde, and natural trees themselves Containing formaldehyde, it is less likely to be completely free of formaldehyde after it is made into a floorboard.

"'Zero formaldehyde' actually refers to the zero addition of formaldehyde on the basis of natural materials." The person in charge said that with the example of the sheet produced by his company, it basically achieved a "zero addition" because natural wood itself The formaldehyde content is approximately 0.1-0.2 mg/L, while the formaldehyde detection value of this product is 0.1 mg/L.

Flooring formaldehyde has so far been a major pain point for major floor companies. For the “zero formaldehyde” concept that appears on the building materials market such as flooring, the merchants frankly stated that “zero formaldehyde” is not completely free of formaldehyde, but it is realized on the basis of natural materials. Formaldehyde "zero added".

The urea-formaldehyde resin binders used in a large number of artificial boards easily decompose after decomposing under certain conditions, and thus become an important source of indoor formaldehyde. According to a floor brand, the binder used in the company’s board material is corn starch, which is treated with a composite denaturation treatment to make it a starch-based API (isocyanate) wood adhesive. Compared with common chemical adhesives, this kind of adhesive is almost free of formaldehyde, and it will not increase the formaldehyde content when it is applied to sheet metal.

Microwave technology reduces formaldehyde by 70% in the Zhongshan home market. In addition to introducing new materials with “zero addition”, “anti-formaldehyde” has more ideas: research and development of new technologies to reduce formaldehyde content in the floor, or use alternatives, directly Absorb formaldehyde.

At present, the common methods of formaldehyde removal in the home furnishing industry include the veneer method, chemical method, and hot ammonia method. Although it can reduce the formaldehyde content in floor building materials, it can be accompanied by many problems, such as the reduction of aldehydes in the short term. Problems such as secondary pollution, high cost, long processing time, etc.

The “smart microwave formaldehyde reduction equipment” developed by a company in Zhongshan City has recently attracted much attention.

According to the Xiaozheng Building Materials Co., Ltd., this equipment mainly utilizes the role of microwave electromagnetic field, which accelerates the degradation process that was originally carried out slowly in these groups, and releases the formaldehyde originally bound in the molecular group. The average processing time for a large plate is less than 2 minutes, while the formaldehyde reduction rate can reach 30% to 70%. At present, the equipment has been granted a number of national patents and put into production in Zhongshan.

Replacing old formaldehyde-containing materials with new materials is another way to fight formaldehyde. Diatom mud that entered the market in recent years is one of them. The diatomaceous earth contained in the diatom mud has extremely strong adsorption capacity, and its micropores are 5000 to 6000 times more than charcoal, and can adsorb various harmful substances including formaldehyde. As an alternative to paints, wallpapers and other materials, its environmental performance is more pronounced.

Regarding the new trend of formaldehyde reduction in the floor market, an industry source told reporters that the reason why formaldehyde in furniture and flooring materials has been difficult to "cure" is that its release cycle can last for more than a decade. The various formaldehyde reduction technologies that appear today will be a good thing for flooring and other building materials industries if they can truly solve this problem and be fully verified.