Urea Formaldehyde (UF) resin

• UF resin was first produced in 1884 by Holzer, who was working

with Bernhard Tollens.
• Urea-formaldehyde, also known as urea-methanol, so named for
its common synthesis pathway and overall structure, is a
non-transparent thermosetting resin or plastic.
• It is produced from urea and formaldehyde. These resins are used
in adhesives, finishes, particle board, and moulded objects.
• UF glue resins were the most important type of adhesives in the
wood industry last 60 years, especially for the production of wood
based panels.
• In industrial production, urea resins are made by the condensation
of formaldehyde and urea in an aqueous solution, using ammonia
as an alkaline catalyst .
• The condensation reaction gives a colourless, solution that can be
spray-dried to a powder for later use in coatings or adhesives.
• It can also be mixed with cellulose filler to produce powders for
moulding into solid objects.
• Under the influence of heat and pressure, the resin, at this point
made up largely of low-molecular-weight intermediate polymers
or prepolymers, is cured to its final state, which consists of a
three-dimensional network of interlinked polymer.
Raw Materials
Chemistry
Methylolation
Condensation
Resin reaction
• The chemical structure of UF polymer consists of
[(O)CNHCH2NH]n repeat units.
• In contrast, melamine-formaldehyde resins feature
NCH2OCH2N repeat units.
• Depending on the polymerization conditions, some
branching can occur. Early stages in the reaction of
formaldehyde and urea produce bis (hydroxymethyl)
urea.
 Manufacturing/Production
• Urea and formaldehyde reacted at reflux under acid
conditions to a required viscosity.
• Resin is neutralized and cooled.
• A further amount of urea is added to react with
remaining free formaldehyde.
• Resin is evaporated to obtain the correct viscosity and
solids.
• Formaldehyde and urea are weighed into a reactor from
a weigh vessel.
• Precision on formalin weighing is 0.02%.
• Precision on urea weighing is 0.5%.
• Viscometers and pH meters are calibrated daily.
• Thermocouples are calibrated bi-annually
 Properties
• It has a very high tensile strength.
• Has the property of flexural modulus.
• Has the property of heat distortion temperature.
• Has the capacity of low water absorption .
• It has the property of mould shrinkage.
• Has a property of high surface hardness.
• High elongation at break
• High volume resistance
• It has a refractive index of 1.55
 Advantages
• Higher maximum operating temperature.
• Better dielectric constant.
• Tracking resistance.
• Dimensional stability compared with cellulose filled urea
formaldehyde
• Lower cost
• Good electrical insulator
 Applications
• Urea-formaldehyde is pervasive.
• Examples include decorative laminates, textiles, paper,
foundry sand molds, wrinkle-resistant fabrics, cotton
blends, rayon, corduroy, etc.
• It is also used as wood glue.
• UF was commonly used when producing electrical
appliances casing (e.g. desk lamps). Foams have been
used as artificial snow in movies.
• It is widely chosen as an adhesive because of its
property of high reactivity, wonderful performance and
low price.
• It is a chemical combination of urea and formaldehyde
and is not poisonous in nature.
• The Examples of amino resins include tires from
automobile industry in order to improve the bonding of
rubber to tire cord, paper for improving tear strength,
molding electrical devices, molding jar caps, etc.
• Urea formaldehyde is also used in agricultural field as a
source of nitrogen fertilizer and Its rate of
decomposition is into CO2 and NH3 and is determined
by the action of microbes found naturally in soils.
• The activity of these microbes, and the rate of nitrogen
release is temperature dependent.
• The optimum temperature for microbe activity is
approximately about (70-90) °F.