Performance of eco‐friendly particleboard from agro‐industrial residues bonded with formaldehyde‐free natural rubber latex adhesive for interior applications

Abstract

AbstractIn this work, a novel way is proposed to produce an eco‐friendly and formaldehyde‐free particleboard (PB) panel from agro‐industrial residues bonded with natural rubber latex (NRL)‐based adhesive. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) was added as an adhesion promoter and polymeric 4,4‐methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (pMDI) was used as cross‐linker. Different formulations of agro‐industrial residues (cassava stem, sengon wood waste, and rice husk) and different contents of NRL‐adhesive (10%, 15%, and 20%) were applied to prepare the PB panel. Several techniques were performed to characterize the properties of NRL‐based adhesive and to evaluate the performance of PB panels from agro‐industrial residues bonded with NRL‐based adhesive. The blending of NRL and PVOH resulted in weak hydrogen bonds in the polymer blends. Incorporation of pMDI provided NCO groups as the reactive site for cross‐linking with NRL‐PVOH via urethane linkages. The results showed that no remarkable differences in the physical properties of the PB panel, such as density, moisture content, water absorption, and thickness swelling, with different agro‐industrial residues formulations and NRL‐adhesive content. By contrast, greater NRL‐adhesive content affected the mechanical properties of the PB panel. The best mechanical properties of the PB panel were obtained using a formulation of 40% of cassava stem, 30% of sengon wood waste, 30% of rice husk, and bonded with 20% of NRL‐adhesive content, which resulted in 4.02 MPa of modulus of rupture (MOR), 441.00 MPa of modulus of elasticity (MOE), and 0.19 MPa of internal bonding (IB) strength. A combination of agro‐industrial residues particles and NRL‐based adhesive presented a high potential for application as an eco‐friendly, formaldehyde‐free, and non‐structural PB such as interior applications.