{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T11:22:56Z","timestamp":1785410576989,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782432000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000780","name":"European Union","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BG16RFPR002-1.014-0015"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BG16RFPR002-1.014-0015"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000780","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["BG16RFPR002-1.014-0015"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BG16RFPR002-1.014-0015"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/019w4f821","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Recycled thermoplastics offer a promising route for valorizing industrial residues and developing thermoplastic-bonded wood-based panels without added formaldehyde-based resins. In this study, experimental wood\u2013polymer composite boards were produced from recycled acrylonitrile\u2013butadiene\u2013styrene (ABS) edge-banding waste used as the polymer matrix and industrial wood fibers used as the lignocellulosic reinforcement. The boards were manufactured at target densities of 800\u20131200 kg\u00b7m\u22123 and wood fiber contents of 10\u201330%, followed by the evaluation of selected physical and mechanical properties, including water absorption, thickness swelling, modulus of elasticity and bending strength. Thermogravimetric analysis of the recycled ABS edge-banding material and qualitative optical microscopy of the board surfaces were used to support, but not independently prove, the interpretation of the composite structure. The recycled ABS waste enabled the formation of compact boards, with density exerting the strongest influence on water resistance and bending performance. The regression models indicated a balanced region at 21.84 wt.% wood fibers and 1134 kg\u00b7m\u22123, corresponding to predicted water absorption of 1.62%, thickness swelling of 3.22%, modulus of elasticity of 2931 N\u00b7mm\u22122 and bending strength of 22.20 N\u00b7mm\u22122. Optical microscopy suggested a more continuous ABS-rich surface in the most homogeneous specimens, whereas local accumulations of fine particles and areas of limited polymer coverage were observed on the opposite surface. These findings demonstrate the potential of recycled ABS edge-banding waste for wood\u2013polymer board production, while indicating that additional feedstock cleaning and sieving should be investigated in subsequent work to improve furnish uniformity and structural homogeneity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym18131591","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]],"date-time":"2026-06-29T00:54:42Z","timestamp":1782694482000},"page":"1591","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Structure\u2013Property Relationships of Hot-Pressed Wood\u2013Polymer Composite Boards from Recycled ABS Edge-Banding Waste and Wood Fibers"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5111-8760","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Viktor","family":"Savov","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Forest Industry, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria"},{"name":"Center of Competence \u201cClean Technologies for a Sustainable Environment\u2014Water, Waste, Energy for a Circular Economy\u201d, 1407 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3837-5380","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Petar","family":"Antov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Forest Industry, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2969-4176","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandrina","family":"Kostadinova-Slaveva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Competence \u201cClean Technologies for a Sustainable Environment\u2014Water, Waste, Energy for a Circular Economy\u201d, 1407 Sofia, Bulgaria"},{"name":"Faculty of Ecology and Landscape Architecture, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1045-958X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ekaterina","family":"Todorova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Competence \u201cClean Technologies for a Sustainable Environment\u2014Water, Waste, Energy for a Circular Economy\u201d, 1407 Sofia, Bulgaria"},{"name":"Faculty of Ecology and Landscape Architecture, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matei","family":"Botev","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Forest Industry, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Georgi","family":"Ivanov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Forest Industry, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-0387-8716","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Viktoria","family":"Dudeva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Forest Industry, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1014-5671","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martina","family":"Todorova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Forest Industry, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1304-3363","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Konstantinos","family":"Ninikas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Forestry, Wood Sciences & Design, School of Technology, University of Thessaly, 43100 Karditsa, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8347-7039","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stoyko","family":"Petrin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Chemical Technologies, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 1757 Sofia, Bulgaria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9371-8702","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anton","family":"Kuzmin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Advanced Composite Materials and Technologies, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, 117997 Moscow, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mo, X., Zhang, X., Fang, L., and Zhang, Y. (2021). Research Progress of Wood-Based Panels Made of Thermoplastics as Wood Adhesives. Polymers, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym14010098"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113649","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compstruct.2021.113649","article-title":"Thermoplastic Moulding of Wood\u2013Polymer Composites (WPC): A Review on Physical and Mechanical Behaviour under Hot-Pressing Technique","volume":"262","author":"Friedrich","year":"2021","journal-title":"Compos. Struct."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103","DOI":"10.1177\/0021998310371546","article-title":"Flat-Pressed Wood Plastic Composite as an Alternative to Conventional Wood-Based Panels","volume":"45","author":"Ayrilmis","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Compos. Mater."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"570","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesa.2011.12.028","article-title":"Effects of Raw Materials and Process Parameters on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Flat-Pressed WPC Panels","volume":"43","author":"Benthien","year":"2012","journal-title":"Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesa.2008.10.004","article-title":"Effects of Processing Method and Fiber Size on the Structure and Properties of Wood\u2013Plastic Composites","volume":"40","author":"Migneault","year":"2009","journal-title":"Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"279","DOI":"10.1007\/s10086-018-1702-3","article-title":"Properties of Flat-Pressed Wood Plastic Composites as a Function of Particle Size and Mixing Ratio","volume":"64","author":"Rahman","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Wood Sci."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5141","DOI":"10.15376\/biores.15.3.5141-5155","article-title":"Selected Properties of Flat-Pressed Wood\u2013Polymer Composites for High Humidity Conditions","volume":"15","author":"Borysiuk","year":"2020","journal-title":"BioResources"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"G\u00f3rski, J., Podziewski, P., and Borysiuk, P. (2022). The Machinability of Flat-Pressed, Single-Layer Wood\u2013Plastic Particleboards while Drilling\u2014Experimental Study of the Impact of the Type of Plastic Used. Forests, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/f13040584"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"176","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2016.02.036","article-title":"Wood\u2013Plastic Composites as Potential Applications of Recycled Plastics of Electronic Waste and Recycled Particleboard","volume":"121","author":"Sommerhuber","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Clean. Prod."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lahtela, V., and K\u00e4rki, T. (2021). A Study on the Effect of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) Plastic Fractions on the Moisture and Resistance to Indentation of Wood\u2013Polymer Composites (WPC). J. Compos. Sci., 5.","DOI":"10.3390\/jcs5080205"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1898","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wasman.2013.05.017","article-title":"Use of Recycled Plastics in Wood Plastic Composites\u2014A Review","volume":"33","author":"Najafi","year":"2013","journal-title":"Waste Manag."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"807","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesb.2007.10.005","article-title":"Dimensional Stability and Mechanical Behaviour of Wood\u2013Plastic Composites Based on Recycled and Virgin High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)","volume":"39","author":"Adhikary","year":"2008","journal-title":"Compos. Part B Eng."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4661","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biortech.2007.09.043","article-title":"Wood\u2013Plastic Composites as Promising Green-Composites for Automotive Industries!","volume":"99","author":"Ashori","year":"2008","journal-title":"Bioresour. Technol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1975","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesa.2009.06.003","article-title":"Effects of Fiber Characteristics on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Wood Plastic Composites","volume":"40","author":"Bouafif","year":"2009","journal-title":"Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"543","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2017.12.061","article-title":"Properties of an Industrial Extruded HDPE-WPC: The Effect of the Size Distribution of Wood Flour Particles","volume":"162","author":"Chaudemanche","year":"2018","journal-title":"Constr. Build. Mater."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1186\/s10086-019-1846-9","article-title":"The Effect of Wood Particle Size Distribution on the Mechanical Properties of Wood\u2013Plastic Composite","volume":"65","author":"Delviawan","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Wood Sci."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1016\/j.polymdegradstab.2015.01.020","article-title":"Reprocessing of Wood Flour Reinforced Polypropylene Composites: Impact of Particle Size and Coupling Agent on Composite and Particle Properties","volume":"113","author":"Soccalingame","year":"2015","journal-title":"Polym. Degrad. Stab."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1434","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesa.2010.06.004","article-title":"Effect of Wood Species on Property and Weathering Performance of Wood Plastic Composites","volume":"41","author":"Fabiyi","year":"2010","journal-title":"Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf."},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"365","article-title":"Composites of Acrylonitrile\u2013Butadiene\u2013Styrene Filled with Wood Flour","volume":"15","author":"Matuana","year":"2007","journal-title":"Polym. Polym. Compos."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2225","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compscitech.2009.06.007","article-title":"Wood\u2013Plastic Composites Formulated with Virgin and Recycled ABS","volume":"69","author":"Yeh","year":"2009","journal-title":"Compos. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"669","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijadhadh.2007.02.001","article-title":"On Adhesion Mechanisms and Interfacial Strength in Acrylonitrile\u2013Butadiene\u2013Styrene\/Wood Sawdust Composites","volume":"27","author":"Chotirat","year":"2007","journal-title":"Int. J. Adhes. Adhes."},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"644","article-title":"Fabrication and Characterization on Physico-Mechanical and Structural Properties of Sawdust Reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Composites","volume":"11","author":"Neher","year":"2020","journal-title":"Mater. Sci. Appl."},{"key":"ref_23","first-page":"43","article-title":"Thermal Insulating Panels Made of Recycled Materials","volume":"15","author":"Georgescu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Pro Ligno"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Roman, K., Grzegorzewska, E., Fedorowicz, K., and Michalczewski, J. (2024). Evaluation of Mechanical Energy Consumption in WPC Production from Pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) with ABS Thermoplastic Additions. Materials, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/ma17215177"},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"(1994). Wood-Based Panels\u2014Sampling, Cutting and Inspection\u2014Part 1: Sampling and Cutting of Test Pieces and Expression of Test Results (Standard No. EN 326-1:1994)."},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"(1993). Wood-Based Panels\u2014Determination of Density (Standard No. EN 323:1993)."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"(1993). Particleboards and Fibreboards\u2014Determination of Swelling in Thickness after Immersion in Water (Standard No. EN 317:1993)."},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"(1993). Wood-Based Panels\u2014Determination of Modulus of Elasticity in Bending and of Bending Strength (Standard No. EN 310:1993)."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.1016\/S0142-9418(98)00067-1","article-title":"The Thermal Degradation of Acrylonitrile\u2013Butadiene\u2013Styrene Terpolymer under Various Gas Conditions","volume":"19","author":"Yang","year":"2000","journal-title":"Polym. Test."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"383","DOI":"10.1016\/j.polymdegradstab.2003.08.002","article-title":"Thermal Analysis of an Acrylonitrile\u2013Butadiene\u2013Styrene\/SWNT Composite","volume":"83","author":"Yang","year":"2004","journal-title":"Polym. Degrad. Stab."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Balart, R., Garcia-Sanoguera, D., Quiles-Carrillo, L., Montanes, N., and Torres-Giner, S. (2019). Kinetic Analysis of the Thermal Degradation of Recycled Acrylonitrile\u2013Butadiene\u2013Styrene by Non-Isothermal Thermogravimetry. Polymers, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym11020281"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1781","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fuel.2006.12.013","article-title":"Characteristics of Hemicellulose, Cellulose and Lignin Pyrolysis","volume":"86","author":"Yang","year":"2007","journal-title":"Fuel"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tca.2008.10.008","article-title":"The Effect of Wood Extractives on the Thermal Stability of Different Wood-LLDPE Composites","volume":"481","author":"Shebani","year":"2009","journal-title":"Thermochim. Acta"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mu, B., Wang, H., Hao, X., and Wang, Q. (2018). Morphology, Mechanical Properties and Dimensional Stability of Biomass Particles\/High Density Polyethylene Composites: Effect of Species and Composition. Polymers, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym10030308"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"750","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesb.2012.04.023","article-title":"Physical, Mechanical and Morphological Properties of Polymer Composites Manufactured from Carbon Nanotubes and Wood Flour","volume":"44","author":"Kordkheili","year":"2013","journal-title":"Compos. Part B Eng."},{"key":"ref_36","first-page":"e00791","article-title":"Physico-Mechanical Properties and Long-Term Creep Behavior of Wood\u2013Plastic Composites for Construction Materials: Effect of Water Immersion Times","volume":"16","author":"Ratanawilai","year":"2022","journal-title":"Case Stud. Constr. Mater."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ramesh, M., Rajeshkumar, L., Sasikala, G., Balaji, D., Saravanakumar, A., Bhuvaneswari, V., and Bhoopathi, R. (2022). A Critical Review on Wood-Based Polymer Composites: Processing, Properties, and Prospects. Polymers, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym14030589"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chotikhun, A., Kittijaruwattana, J., Lee, S.H., Hiziroglu, S., and Salca, E.-A. (2022). Some Properties of Wood Plastic Composites Made from Rubberwood, Recycled Plastic and Silica. Forests, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/f13030427"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"221","DOI":"10.1016\/j.promfg.2017.08.026","article-title":"Study of Wood-Plastic Composites with Reused High Density Polyethylene and Wood Sawdust","volume":"12","author":"Horta","year":"2017","journal-title":"Procedia Manuf."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jian, B., Mohrmann, S., Li, H., Li, Y., Ashraf, M., Zhou, J., and Zheng, X. (2022). A Review on Flexural Properties of Wood-Plastic Composites. Polymers, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym14193942"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pokhrel, G., Gardner, D.J., and Han, Y. (2021). Properties of Wood\u2013Plastic Composites Manufactured from Two Different Wood Feedstocks: Wood Flour and Wood Pellets. Polymers, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym13162769"},{"key":"ref_42","unstructured":"(2009). Fibreboards\u2014Specifications\u2014Part 5: Requirements for Dry Process Boards (MDF) (Standard No. EN 622-5:2009)."}],"container-title":["Polymers"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4360\/18\/13\/1591\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T05:22:15Z","timestamp":1783488135000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4360\/18\/13\/1591"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]]},"references-count":42,"journal-issue":{"issue":"13","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}},"alternative-id":["polym18131591"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/polym18131591","relation":{},"ISSN":["2073-4360"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2073-4360","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]]}}}