The Use of Castor Oil Resin on Particleboards: A Systematic Performance Review and Life Cycle Assessment

Resin is necessary for the particleboard-manufacturing process since, given its characteristics as a polymeric matrix, it can directly affect these composites’ physical and mechanical properties. In this context, research on using castor-oil-based polyurethane resin (castor oil PU) as a binder in particle panels has been studied to evaluate this material performance and the adhesive efficiency. Some studies indicate that castor-oil-based resin has ecological advantages compared to the use of petroleum-based resins and presents better performance compared with other resins. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review and life cycle assessment focusing on the comparative performance between castor oil PU resin and commercial resins. The comparative panorama developed in this research demonstrated the application potential of the adhesive, presenting studies that obtained better results in the physical and mechanical properties of particle panels that used the castor-oil-based binder. Castor oil PU resin also obtained a good result in the life cycle assessment compared to other resins, with better environmental performance in 12 of the 18 impact categories that were evaluated and standing out in the human toxicity categories. Based on the results, castor oil PU resin is an alternative for more sustainable production, combining good technical performance and lower potential environmental impacts in panel production.