Properties of particleboard made from rice husk and coconut husk in relation of varying resin content and board density / Mazlinda Marzuki …[et al.]

Rice husk and coconut husk a potentially cheap raw material are available in large quantities but are currently discarded as agriculture residues. The rice husks and coconut husks are bumed after harvest. Hereby, I propose the usage of these "waste" as potential raw material for particleboard so as to provide an alternative source as of replacement depleting wood particles. This study determined the properties of particleboard made of a mixture of rice husks (50%) and coconut husks (50%). The 50:50 mix were investigated for the effects of board densities (600kg/m3, 700kg/m3 and 800kg/m3) and varying phenol formaldehyde resin contents (8, 10 and 12 %). Based on the results, the modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE) and internal bonding (IB) were increased by increasing resin contents and board densities. For thickness swelling (TS) and water absorption (WA) the values decreased for each increasing board densities and resin contents. In this study the highest value of MOR (11.12 MPa) and MOE (1238.51MPa) is obtained from 800 kg/m3 with 12% of resin content. The best value of IB is 0.125 MPa from 700 kg/m3 at 10% resin content. The particleboards were evaluated according to the European Standard (EN 312:2003) requirements.