Natural based polyurethane matrix composites reinforced with bamboo fiber waste for use as oriented strand board

Abstract

Composites that use natural fibers as reinforcement have generated great interest in the industrial and scientific community due to the need for materials that present environmental responsibility and are economically viable. This work aimed to develop and establish a comparative analysis of the mechanical properties and physical characteristics between a castor oil based polyurethane resin composites reinforced with fibrous bamboo residue and a commercial Oriented Strand Board (OSB), in which where determined the technical issues of using these composites as OSB panels. Bamboo fibers used were obtained as a residue from a barbecue sticks industry. Composites were made with 20 and 40% volume fraction of continuous and aligned bamboo fiber. The density, moisture absorption, and mechanical strength of the composites were tested and compared with the commercial OSB. The composites not only presented mechanical performance superior to the commercial OSB, surpassing 1000 J/m, 85 MPa and 4.4 GPa for impact resistance, flexural strength, and flexural elastic modulus, respectively, but also fulfilled the standard requirements, while the commercial OSB, failed in most of the observed standards criteria. In addition, the developed materials contribute to a sustainable environment by using both bamboo waste and castor oil based polyurethane resin in a composite material.