Particleboard is consistent, durable, and produced to precise thicknesses in various panels, allowing users the consistent quality and design flexibility needed for fast, efficient production lines and quality consumer products. This substrate is used primarily in manufacturing office and residential furniture, kitchen and bath cabinets, shelving, store fixtures, underlayment, and stair treads.

Particleboard is a composite panel product consisting of cellulosic particles of various sizes that are bonded together with a synthetic resin or binder under heat and pressure. Additionally, additives can be incorporated during manufacturing to impart specific performance enhancements, including greater dimensional stability, increased fire retardancy, and moisture resistance.

Inspiration:  Particleboard has excellent machining characteristics, an important factor when postforming countertops. Other popular uses include cabinetry, furniture, store fixtures, shelving, door core, flooring underlayment, stair treads, millwork, and moulding.

MORE INFO   Design Portfolio Read the complete Design Portfolio: The definitive guide to sourcing decorative surfaces and composite panels.   Composite Panel Association  More information, plus industry news, testing & certification, policy and stewardship at the Composite Panel Association's website CompositePanel.org

Product Standards, Certification, and Environmental Specifications 
ANSI A208.1 Particleboard is the North American industry voluntary standard for use and specification. The Standard classifies particleboard by density and strength; covers physical, dimensional, and mechanical characteristics; and addresses formaldehyde emission levels. ANSI A208.1 is sponsored by the Composite Panel Association (CPA) and is developed in conjunction with industry stakeholders including producers, users, and other interested groups. A summary of the Particleboard Property Requirements is below and copies of ANSI A208.1 are available on the CPA website, CompositePanel.org. 

Third-party certification to ANSI 208.1 is required for many applications of composite panels. For example, many building code jurisdictions require the physical properties of particleboard underlayment and stair treads to be third-party certified. All manufacturers of particleboard sold in the U.S. and Canada must meet the third-party certification and formaldehyde emissions testing requirements under EPA’s TSCA Title VI and CARB ATCM 93120 or the Canadian regulations (CANFER, DORS / 2021-148). For additional information about emissions, see the updated CPA Technical Bulletin “VOC Emission Barrier Effects.”

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are the widely accepted standardized specification format for communicating a product’s environmental footprint and performance. EPDs are the definitive source of technical, environmental data scientifically based on life cycle analysis (LCA) and can be used to compare alternative product materials directly. The industry-wide EPD for North American particleboard was recently updated and is now available on the CPA website, CompositePanel.org. 

For additional information, see the “Panels for the Planet” article.