Utilization of tea oil camellia (Camellia oleifera Abel.) shells as alternative raw materials for manufacturing particleboard

Abstract

Tea oil camellia (Camellia oleifera Abel.) is a unique oil crop belongs to the genus Camellia of the Theaceae family with more than 4.4 million hectares in China to produce more than 2.4 million-ton fruit in 2019. There are about 1.8 million-ton by-products of tea oil camellia shell (TCOS). In view of the huge amount of TCOS produced, it is a severe concern to utilize the TCOS on a large scale instead of discarding it to cause various forms of environmental pollution and problems. Herein, we investigated the feasibility of using TCOS as a new lignocellulose resource instead of wood for particleboard production. The effective variables, including adhesive content, hot-pressing parameters (temperature, time, and pressure), and the ratio of shell particles to wood particles, were systematically investigated. Results showed the suitability of TOCS as a raw material for the particleboard industry. Accordingly, using 50 % of TOCS particles and 50 % commercial wood particles in the mat with 8% pMDI adhesive exhibited modulus of rupture (MOR) value of 13.4 N/mm2, modulus of elasticity (MOE) of 1840 N/mm2, and internal bonding strength (IB) of 1.22 N/mm2, qualified EN standard for particleboard type P2 (dry conditions), and its thickness swelling (TS) of 17 % met the minimum requirement of EN 312 for particleboard type P3.