Properties of composite board from dried leaves in UiTM Pahang campus / Nur Afiqah Israruddin

The usage of dried leaves collected in UiTM Pahang, Jengka Campus, for
insulation board applications was conducted. The leaves were divided into two
forms which were original form and crushed form and board density of 450kg/m3
were produced. The effect of phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin content at 8%,
10% and 12% on the physical, mechanical and thermal properties of the board
was evaluated. Crushed leaves performed better than original leaves due to
more surface contact area derived in smaller particle leaves but it has lower
resistance due to higher thermal conductivity (TC). Higher resin percentage
produced greater strength for board mechanical testing such as "bending
strength modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of ruptured (MOR) and internal
bonding (IB). The insulation board physical testing Le. thickness swelling (TS)
and water absorption (WA) also showed positive effect with the increasing
percentage from 8%, 10% and 12% of PF resin usage. Regardless the forms of
the leaves used, thermal conductivity showed that the board has high potential
to be used as insulation board.