Abstract
The current study aims to improve properties of particleboard manufactured from cotton (Gossium hirsutum) stalks glued with urea formaldehyde. To this aim, panel density (at three levels: 0,5; 0,65 and 0,8 g/cm3), press temperature (at two levels: 150 and 180 °C) and press closing speed (at two levels: 4 and 8mm/s) were selected as independent variables. The mechanical properties consist of modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity and internal bonding and physical behaviors such as water absorption and thickness swelling of panels were determined. Results showed that with increasing the density of panels and press temperature modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity and internal bonding of panels increased, while bending strengths of panels were differently affected by press closing speedcompared to the internal bonding, so that with increasing the press closing speed modulus of rupture increased, but internal bonding decreased. Moreover, increasing panel density and press temperature, water absorption and thickness swelling of panels decreased. The press closing speed affected the waterabsorption and thickness swelling, insignificantly.
Highlights
In recent years, attention is paid to using lignocellulosic residues obtained from agricultural crops, especially in wood and paper industries
The results showed that the flexural strength (MOR and modulus of elasticity (MOE)) of a particleboard made of cotton stalk with bone glue is more than that made of bamboo (Okubo et al 2004) and hemp (Kalaycioglue and Nemli 2006)
Increasing the closing time of the press opening, more time is provided for core layer and the particles are interwoven more; and the core layer’s density increases, while the average density is constant and the internal bonding strength (IB) increases
Summary
Attention is paid to using lignocellulosic residues obtained from agricultural crops, especially in wood and paper industries. It is unavoidable to use agricultural wastes due to the lack of wood raw materials and the sharp decline of forest resources (Kord et al 2015, Guler et al 2006). All of these issues show the relative advantages and the importance of the extension of using these residues on areas of wood industries. Many researches are conducted on the provision of composite materials based on using renewable lignocellulosic resources in the entire world One of these agricultural wastes is cotton stalk. It can be predicted that many properties of different types of panels manufactured from cotton stalks are negatively affected (Kargarfard et al 2006)
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