Abstract
The objective of this study was the evaluation of feasibility of producing particleboard for general use using cotton gin waste generated in Argentina and urea formaldehyde resin. The chemical composition and size distribution of particles of the ginning residue as well as mechanical and physical properties of the particleboards obtained were investigated. Density and flexural strength of particleboards produced with varying levels of urea-formaldehyde resin between 8.3 and 19.3% (solid to solid ratio) were evaluated. The effect of incorporating jute reinforcement on the mechanical properties of these boards was also analyzed. Particle boards with densities between 530 and 700 kg/m3 and variable flexural strength between 0.30 and 5.85 MPa were obtained, allowing the minimum levels required for low-density boards to be reached.
Highlights
Cotton production in the north of Santa Fe province, is an important productive activity, as in Chaco, Formosa, Santiago del Estero and Corrientes, showing high geographical concentration
Cotton gin waste used for the particleboards elaboration was obtained from stockpiles of a ginning plant located in Santa Fe province (Argentina)
For chipped residue the amount of particles smaller than 600 μm is 8.86 %, and it is constituted by very fine remains of particles and dust, which must be discarded in order to manufacture particleboards due to its great adhesive demand
Summary
Cotton production in the north of Santa Fe province, is an important productive activity, as in Chaco, Formosa, Santiago del Estero and Corrientes, showing high geographical concentration. In recent decades the use of mechanical harvesting has become widespread, notably improving the profitability of the crop, but producing a greater amount of ginning residue that must be disposed of effectively, generating drawbacks and extraordinary costs to the ginning sector [2] This waste, which is usually stockpiled in the open air, result in an exceptional habitat for vermin and rodents and, likewise, they are self-igniting, representing a danger to nearby communities. Another characteristic of the ginning sector that is important to bear in mind is that it carries out intensive activities for approximately 100 days a year, in correspondence with harvest-ginning campaigns, and dedicates itself to maintenance activities or other related activities (processing of seeds) with minimal staff requirements. One aspect of cotton production that threatens the implementation of complex technologies in order to reuse ginning waste is the variability of the interannual production, registering in the last decades campaigns that oscillate between 386,676 and 1,032,545 t of raw cotton, according to data from the Ministry of Agroindustry and CCIA [2]
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