Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Production of Particle Board Using Maize Cobs

Abstract

This research project was carried out to propose a new material made out of maize cobs for particle board manufacture. The purpose was to examine general limits within which a satisfactory board can be made with this agricultural residue. Mostly, maize cobs are considered as agriculture wastes. These natural and organic waste materials are sometimes being kept for a long time so that they can decompose for making fertilizers and others are burnt which is harmful to the environment and atmosphere as a whole. This study focuses on using maize cobs in production of a three-layer particle board for furniture where it was started by collecting maize cobs from local farmers in Gicumbi District and testing their physical and chemical properties using eye vision. After, cobs have been grinded in small particles by using flour mill machine and then sieved to retain particle of desirable dimensions. Since this board is composed of three layers, the particles are of two types. Small particles are 1 to 3 mm for both outer layers (face layers) and 4 to 6 mm for middle layer (core layer). Particles were then washed to remove dust, cooked for protecting particles from decaying after board production and sun dried at an average temperature of 27℃ within 72 daylight hours for extracting moisture. Later, the prepared particles were mixed with sisal fibres and bonded together by glue and then formed into boards of different sizes with an average mechanical compression of 3.8 N/mm². Afterwards, the formed board was removed from the formwork and exposed to the sun within 5 days for drying and hardening. After that, one of the hardened boards was covered by veneer cover for enhancing the external appearance and increasing its resistance to moisture. Lastly, the covered boards were tested for checking their efficiency. The results were compared with the data available from the present standard. All samples satisfied the standard requirements except for water absorption test. It was generally observed from the results that the maize cob is a good material for particle board manufacture and its properties were consistently dependent on the resin concentration levels and density. The developed product will be an environmentally friendly and sustainable product. This product will reduce the importation of particle boards from other countries and will encourage the SMEs to create the jobs, which will fulfill the Rwanda's vision.