Transforming oil palm trunk waste into high-performance lightweight materials

Abstract

Addressing the growing demand for efficient sustainable materials, this study presents the development of a high-performance lightweight material utilizing oil palm trunk—a waste product from oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) cultivation. The proposed novel process involves polymer impregnation of sawn oil palm trunk under ambient conditions for 24-h soaking intervals, resulting in loadings of polymethyl methacrylate ranging from 0 wt% to 220 wt%. Subsequent polymerization at temperatures (90 and 103°C) commonly employed in the wood drying industry enhances the water resistance of the material, making it comparable to that of commercially available timber. Remarkably, the treated oil palm lumber attained a maximum density of approximately 450 kg/m3, making it a lightweight material. Furthermore, the impregnation process significantly improves the decay resistance of this product under natural weathering conditions. The treated oil palm lumber also displayed an increase of up to five times in the bending and compressive strength. Interestingly, a linear correlation between these enhanced properties and the density of this material was observed. This suggests the possibility of systematically producing the high-performance oil palm lumber through a simple and industry-accessible process.