Properties of Particleboard from Oil Palm Trunk (Elaeis guineensis) and Resam (Dicranopteris linearis)

Abstract

The increasing number of timber producers in Malaysia causes the increments in wood waste. The sources of wood wastes in Malaysia come from wood residues from logging, wood processing, and agriculture. Wood waste has the potential to be utilized. This can minimize the wood waste and maximize the wood waste into a value–added product to help the industries. The purpose of this study is to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of particleboard from oil palm trunk (OPT) and resam. Oil palm trunk mixed with resam can be utilized to produce various types of value–added products which are the resources of the substitute’s material on wood-based industry. Single-layered and hybrid particleboard from OPT and resam were fabricated with 600 kg/m3 and 10 % resin content. Phenol formaldehyde (PF) was used as a binder. The properties of bending strength (MOR & MOE), internal bonding strength (IB), thickness swelling (TS), and water absorption (WA) were evaluated based on Japanese Industrial Standard; JIS A 5908:2003. Results showed that both resam and OPT particles can be used in co-mixtures to produce particleboards. Particleboard from single-layered boards made from OPT met the MOR and MOE requirement of the JIS standard. Utilization of OPT and resam is one innovative way to reduce the usage of wood-based material and at the same time reduced the abundance of agricultural waste.