In times of climate change and a shortage of energy and raw materials, it has become apparent, that material reuse of wood in a cascade system can reduce the ecological impact of a material and be cost effective. A new composite material has been developed made from citric acid, sorbitol, water and waste MDF. Not only will there be a material reuse option for waste MDF but due to the small particle size used, other categories of waste wood could be used for the production as well. The properties of the composite predestine a use as a brick-like building material. Therefore, fire protection is a major concern. In this work, composite samples were treated with fire retardants (FR). An ammonium phosphate-based fire retardant (AP) and expandable graphite (EG) were used. Additionally, a board variant of the composite was produced and tested for its fire properties. The samples were tested with a mass loss calorimeter. Both FR treatments improved the fire properties of the composite. Nonetheless, the amounts of FR used in this work were not sufficient to predict the composite as fire class B according to EN 13823 (2014). Further research must be done to investigate if the composite can perform as class B material when higher amounts of FR are added. Additionally, leachability of the FR compounds has to be determined, and if and how the FR influences the mechanical properties of the composite.

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