Part Of Oil Palm Trunk Research Articles

Lightweight cellulosic insulation panels made from oil palm trunk fibers

Biobased thermal insulation is of relevance as a sustainable substitute for current fossil-based materials. In this regard, oil palm trunk (OPT), which arises in substantial quantities as a by-product of the palm oil industry, is a suitable raw material due to its relatively high content in cellulosic fibers and low cost. The present study focuses on the inner part of OPT, which is light and low in mechanical performance and therefore lacks suitable applications other than fuel wood. OPT was grinded, chemically pre-treated to reduce the content of non-cellulosic constituents and fibrillated. With the partial aid of additives, the fiber suspensions where then mechanically foamed and dried. The light-weight panels produced by this method showed low densities of roughly 50 – 100 kg m−3 and thermal conductivity of 40 – 45 mW m−1 K−1. With these values, OPT foam panels are well within reach of current non-bio-based insulation materials and perform equally well or even better than other bio-based thermal insulation materials.

Effect of densification on the physical and mechanical properties of the inner part of oil palm trunk impregnated with methylene diphenyl diisocyanate

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) plantations in Indonesia are increasing over the past few years. After economic productivity, however, the unproductive oil palm trunks are felled and mostly go to waste, especially the inner part of the oil palm trunk (IOPT). There are several modification methods to utilize IOPT, such as impregnation and densification. Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) is a common resin used for impregnation in composite industries because it is non-toxic and has excellent physical and mechanical properties but it has never been applied for the impregnation of IOPT. This study aimed to analyze the effect of densification on the physical and mechanical properties of the inner part of oil palm trunk (IOPT) impregnated using methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) resin to obtain valuable information regarding the efficient utilization of unproductive oil palm trunks. IOPT was densified and compregnated with compression ratios (CRs) of 20% and 30%. The physical properties (density, moisture content (MC), and water absorption (WA)) and mechanical properties (modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rupture (MOR), and hardness) of the compregnated samples were better than those of the densified samples. The density and mechanical properties at CR 30% were higher than those at CR 20%. The improvements in density, MC, and WA of the compregnated IOPT with CR 30% were 127%, 54%, and 70%, respectively, compared to that in untreated IOPT. Furthermore, improvements in the MOE, MOR, and hardness of the compregnated IOPT with CR 30% were 489%, 379%, and 393%, respectively. The mechanical properties of the compregnated IOPT at CR 20% and 30% increased two- to three-fold from strength class V in control IOPT to strength class III in compregnated IOPT with CR 20% and to strength class II in compregnated IOPT with CR 30%, respectively.

Resistance of the inner part of oil palm trunk impregnated with aqueous polymer-isocyanate to subterranean termite attack

Isocyanate impregnation was studied relative to the subterranean termite (Coptotermes curvignathus Holmgren) resistance of the inner part of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) trunk. Unproductive oil palm trunk was harvested and divided into top and bottom parts. Samples were isolated from the inner part of the trunk with a size of 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm x 0.5 cm. The samples were impregnated with 10% and 20% aqueous polymer-isocyanate and then heated at 60 °C for 48 h. The specimens were fed to subterranean termites under laboratory conditions. The weight percent gain values were 15.3% to 21.0% and 9.2% to 14.7% for the top and bottom parts, respectively. A higher isocyanate concentration decreased the moisture content and increased the density of inner part of the oil palm trunk. Impregnation with aqueous polymer-isocyanate increased termite mortality at the bottom part and decreased the feeding rate and weight percent loss. Impregnation with 10% and 20% aqueous polymer-isocyanate enhanced the resistance class of the bottom part of the inner part of the oil palm trunk from very poorly resistant (V) to poorly resistant (IV) and moderately resistant (III), respectively, based on the standard adopted.

Characterization of particleboard using the inner part of oil palm trunk (OPT) with a bio-based adhesive of sucrose and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP)

The effective utilization of the inner part of oil palm trunk (OPT), generally considered a waste product, is desired. In this study, particleboards were manufactured using the inner part of OPT with a bio-based adhesive made of sucrose and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP). The mixture ratio of sucrose to ADP and the resin content were changed to investigate the optimum condition of the adhesive. The pressing condition was set at 180 °C for 10 min, and the target density was 0.8 g/cm3. The optimum mixture ratio of sucrose to ADP was 80:20, and the optimum resin content was 20 wt%. The manufactured boards had modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) in bending values of 16.4 MPa and 4.3 GPa, respectively. The internal bond strength (IB) was 1.85 MPa, and the thickness swelling (TS) was 9.6%. This indicated that the constructed particleboard was comparable to the 13 types of JIS A 5908 standard (2003). In addition, the particleboard had good termite and decay resistance, similar to those of OPT particleboards made with synthetic adhesives. It was clarified that excellent particleboard could be manufactured from the inner part of OPT and a bio-based adhesive made of sucrose and ADP.

Effects of adding ammonium dihydrogen phosphate to a water-soluble extract of the inner part of oil palm trunk on binderless particleboard

This study investigated the effects of adding ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) on the physical and chemical changes of a water-soluble extract of the inner part of oil palm trunk (OPT) to clarify the bonding mechanism of the binderless particleboard. The extract’s effect on ADP-added binderless particleboard was also investigated. OPT particles were treated by hot water at 60 °C for 6 h. Water-soluble extract and treated OPT particles were obtained. ADP was added to the water-soluble extract at 0, 10, and 40 wt%, and the mixtures were heated at 180 °C for 10 min. Furthermore, binderless particleboards using the treated particles were manufactured with similar condition. The 10 wt% ADP mixture changed the water-soluble extract to an insoluble substance, which was twice that of with 0 wt.% ADP addition. Infrared spectroscopy revealed peaks of furan and carbonyl in the insoluble substance. This indicated that the free sugar content in the water-soluble extract would change to furan compounds. Thermal analysis revealed that the resulting insoluble substance had good thermal stability, suggesting a high-molecular-weight substance. The insoluble substance would contribute to bonding of the binderless particleboards. In particular, a significant contribution to the water resistance was observed.

The effect of phenol formaldehyde impregnation at various concentrations on quality of densified-oil palm trunk

The purpose of this study was to improve the quality of oil palm trunk (OPT) after impregnation with Phenol Formaldehyde (PF) resin at various concentration and compression. The inner part of OPT with an average density of 0.28 g/cm3 was used as samples. The OPT was impregnated with PF (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) by the vacuum-pressure method, then compressed by close system compression. The physical and mechanical properties including weight gain (WG), recovery set (RS), compression parallel to grain, modulus of rupture (MOR) and elasticity modulus (MOE) were examined. The results show WG after PF impregnation was 5.29-53.81% and RS value was 0.99-27.92%. The physical and mechanical properties have increased with increasing PF concentration. The density value, compression parallel to grain, MOR and MOE were 107.15-217.86%, 39.27-248.31%, 159.71-379.22% and 52.92-171.58%, respectively. The impregnation PF of 20% was the best treatment.

High-performance binderless particleboard from the inner part of oil palm trunk by addition of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate

The inner part (i.e., two-thirds of the diameter) of oil palm trunk (OPT) generally becomes waste because of its insufficient properties (e.g., low strength, low durability). Herein we attempted to use the inner part of OPT as a raw material of binderless particleboard in order to change this waste into an environmentally friendly value-added product. In this study, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) was used as an additive, and the effect of ADP additions on the properties of particleboard manufacturing using the inner part of OPT was investigated. The ADP additions were varied from 0 to 40 wt%. First, thermal analyses were conducted to clarify the effect of ADP addition on the thermal properties of the OPT, and it was observed that the thermal properties of the OPT were significantly lowered with the increase in ADP additions. Based on these results, particleboards with a target density of 0.8 g/cm3 were manufactured under the pressing condition of 180 °C for 10 min. The physical and mechanical properties of the particleboards were improved with the addition of ADP until 10 wt%. The water resistance was also significantly improved. It was suggested that part of the water-soluble components of OPT particles would change to water-insoluble components by the addition of ADP. Our findings demonstrate that the addition of ADP was effective for improving the physical and mechanical properties of particleboard using the inner part of OPT.

Effect of impregnation methods and bioresin concentration on physical and mechanical properties of soft-inner part of oil palm trunk

Bioresin from derived of pine (Pinus merkusii) was used to increase the strength of the soft-inner part of oil palm trunk (S-OPT). This purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of impregnation methods (soaking 1 day, 3 days, and vacuum 600 mmHg for 1 hour) and bioresin concentration (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) on the physical and mechanical properties of S-OPT. Bioresin was dissolved with ethanol. The result showed that weight gain from bioresin into S-OPT was 0.85 % - 39.4%. The bioresin impregnation with several concentration significantly improved the physical and mechanical properties of S-OPT up to (1) 5.7-57.14% in density; (2) 29.94%-145.18% in compressive strength; (3) 114.78%-345.66% in modulus of elasticity (MOE); and (4) 43.01%-111.79% in the in modulus of rupture (MOR). The best performance of S-OPT when bioresin impregnated 20% bioresin using vacuum method as shown higher the physical and mechanical properties.

Conversion of oil palm trunk into bio-oil via treatment with subcritical water

Subcritical water was applied to produce bio-oil from a 21-year-old abandoned oil palm trunk (OPT). The effects of reaction temperature, time, part of trunk taken, and optimum reaction condition were investigated. Higher heating values (HHVs), CHNS/O elemental and GC-MS analysis were performed to characterize the bio-oil. The subcritical water temperatures were manipulated between 100 °C and 370 °C with 10 °C intervals and the reaction time was varied between 6 s and 20 min. The maximum yield of bio-oil from subcritical water treatment of top and bottom part of OPT was 0.27 and 0.30 kg/kg-dry OPT, respectively. The optimum reaction time and temperature was 5 min and 330 °C. The highest HHV of the bio-oils derived from the top and bottom part of OPT was 33.2 MJ/kg and 26.4 MJ/kg, respectively. From GC-MS measurement, the bio-oil contained phenolic compounds. The bio-oil derived from OPT obtained from subcritical water treatment had high HHV and comparable to other liquid fuels.

Performance of composite boards from long strand oil palm trunk bonded by isocyanate and urea formaldehyde adhesives

In this research, the obtained long strand were produced from the outer part of oil palm trunk and then hot-prepressed. The three-ply composite boards were made from hot-prepressed long strand and use bonded by isocyanate and urea formaldehyde adhesives with a glue spread variation of 150 g/m2, 225 g/m2, and 300 g/m2. The board target density was 0.65 g/cm3, face and back layers orientation is the same and the core layer was perpendicular to the face and back layers. The research results showed that : (1) composite boards bonded by isocyanate performed better physical and mechanical properties compared to those of bonded by urea formaldehyde, (2) utilization of higher glue spread level would improve the physical and mechanical properties of the composite board. (3) composite boards bonded by isocyanate and urea formaldehyde adhesives at glue spread of 225 g/m2, 300 g/m2, respectively were enough to fulfill the JIS A 5908 (2003) standard.

Determination of wood wettability properties of oil palm trunk, Shorea sp. and Paraserianthes falcataria by contact angle method

The aim of this study was to determine the wettability of the inner part of oil palm trunk (OPT), the outer part of OPT, OPT that densified 50%, Shorea sp. and Paraserianthes falcataria wood, as raw material for laminated beams. The wettability of the wood was measured by using cosine-contact angle (CCA) method, which is measuring the angle between dripped resin liquid and the wood surface. The resins that used in this study is phenol formaldehyde (PF) and urea formaldehyde (UF). The results showed that the Shorea sp. and P. falcataria woods have the smallest contact angle or the best wettability properties than OPT. Shorea sp. has the best wettability on PF resin (83.00°), while P. falcataria on UF resin (90.89°), this is due to the levels of starch and extractive substances in Shorea sp. and P. falcataria wood are smaller than OPT. Furthermore, Shorea sp. and P. falcataria wood surfaces are flatter and smoother than OPT, so that the resin will flow easier and wetting the wood surface. In this condition, the liquid resin will flow easier and formed a smaller contact angle. The good wettability of wood will enhance the adhesion properties of laminated beams.

Sugar and Bioethanol Production from Oil Palm Trunk (OPT)

Various types of carbohydrate-rich plants with several methods have been experimented to produce sugar and bioethanol. Usually, sugar and bioethanol are yielded by fermentation process synthesized from cellulosic and hemi-cellulosic biomass. In this study, Oil Palm Trunk (OPT) sap was utilized to produce sugar and bioethanol using Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Yeast) as fermentation agent as well as Alanine amino acid (C3H7NO2) and Epsom salt (MgSO4) as nutritional supplements in anaerobic condition with 96 hours duration. The first objective of this study was to produce sugar and bioethanol from three different parts of OPT sap such as upper, middle and bottom part and identify the most-efficient part to optimize. Another objective was to demonstrate the effect of nutrients on fermentation process to determine highest yield. After experimenting fermentation process of 50 ml concentrated OPT sap with 30 ml warmed distilled water for 96 hours, obtained result indicated that upper part of OPT yielded the highest ethanol amount 58.34% (w/w) and sugar 21.14% (w/w) with nutrients.

Fixation of Soft-inner Part of Oil Palm Trunk by Close System Compression Method

Compression by closes system compression (CSC) improved quality of the soft-inner part of oil palm trunk (S-OPT). The problem of compressed-wood was spring back or recovery of set, if it was exposed to moisture content. The objective of these study were to evaluate the recovery of set (RS) and weight loss (WL) of S-OPT by CSC. These methods were compared with heat treatment (HT) and steam treatment (ST). Density of S-OPT was 0.3 g/cm3. All samples were compressed to compression ratio of 50%. The compression of HT method used the temperatur of 120, 140, 160, 180 and 200 °C for 0, 10, 30, 60 and 180 minutes; and ST method used temperature of 120, 140, 160, 170 and 180 °C for 0, 5, 10 and 30 minute; while CSC method used temperature of 120, 140, 160, 180 and 200 °C for 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 minutes. The results showed that the temperature and compression time contributed to the RS and WL value for all methods. Increasing compression temperature and time leads to decreased the RS value and to increased the WL value. The lower RS value indicated that S-OPT fixation would be better or high dimensional stability. Fixation of S-OPT by ST method was achieved at temperature of 170 °C for 30 min, CSC at temperature of 180 °C for 30 min, while HT method has not fixated until 200 °C for 180 min.

Effect of Phenol Formaldehyde Impregnation on The Physical and Mechanical Properties of Soft-Inner Part of Oil Palm Trunk

The objective of this study was to improve physical and mechanical properties of soft-inner part of oil palm trunk (S-OPT) after impregnation with phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin and densification by close system compression (CSC) method. Effect of different methods of PF resin impregnation (i.e., no vacuum-pressure, vacuum, and vacuum-pressure) was evaluated. The results showed that PF resin impregnation and CSC significantly improved the physical and mechanical properties of S-OPT up to: (1) 176% in density; (2) 309% in modulus of rupture (MOR); (3) 287% modulus of elasticity (MOE); and (4) 191% in the compressive strength. Physical and mechanical properties of S-OPT showed their best performances when PF resin impregnated with vacuum- pressure method as shown by higher weight gain, density, MOR, MOE, compressive strength, and lower recovery of set due to better penetration of PF resin into S-OPT. Combining PF resin impregnation and densification by CSC method could be a good method to improve physical and mechanical properties of S-OPT.

Quality Improvement of Oil Palm Trunk Properties by Close System Compression Method

ABSTRACT Densification of the inner part of oil palm trunk (OPT) by the close system compression (CSC) method was performed in this study. The effects of the compression temperature and time on the anatomical, physical and mechanical properties of OPT were evaluated. The inner part of OPT with an initial average density of 0.3 g/cm 3 was used as samples. Oven-dried samples were immersed in water and vacuumed until fully saturated andthen compressed by CSC at 120, 140, 160 or 180℃ for 10, 20, 30 or 40 min. The anatomical characteristics of transverse and radial sections before and after compression were compared by optical microscopy. The phys-ical and mechanical properties, including the density, recovery of set (RS), modulus of elasticity (MOE), mod-ulus of rupture (MOR), and compression parallel to grain were examined. It was observed that the anatomical characteristic of the inner part of OPT (i.e., vascular bundles, vessels, and parenchyma tissue) became flattened,fractured, and collapsed after compression by CSC. The RS decreased with increasing compression temperatureand time. The lower RS indicated high dimensional stability. The physical and mechanical properties (i.e., den-sity, MOR, MOE, and compressive strength) of the inner part of OPT increased with increasing compression temperature and time. Compression by the CSC method at 160℃ for 40 min was the optimum treatment. Keywords : close system compression, compressed wood, oil palm trunk, physical and mechanical properties, recovery of set

New Approach to Oil Palm Trunk Core Lumber Material Properties Enhancement via Resin Impregnation

In this study, oil palm trunk core-lumber (OPTCL) producing from oil palm based plywood industries waste materials was studied using microwave drying technique for material optimization. Microwave dried oil palm trunk core part was impregnated with phenol formaldehyde resin as a matrix by using high-pressure vacuum impregnation chamber. Microwave drying optimized the drying conditions, avoided burning, shrinkage and increased the permeability of oil palm trunk (OPT). OPTCL impregnated in different times and compared with kiln dried OPTCL and rubber wood (RW). Impregnation of microwave dried core part of oil palm trunk was carried out first time. The microwave dried impregnated OPTCL exhibited higher mechanical properties as compared to microwave dried OPT. Results indicated that OPTCL impregnated for 60 min shows lower mechanical properties as compared to RW. The morphology of resin loaded oil palm trunk core cell wall or lumen ultra structure was analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and it clearly showed full penetration of resin into OPTCL cell. The mechanical properties of impregnated samples were analyzed according to BS and ASTM standards.