Effects of mechanical properties and water resistance of particleboard from Kelempayan (Neolamarckia cadamba) wood with variation of hot pressing temperatures and board densities / Nur Sakinah Mohamed Tamat, Jamaludin Kasim and Wan Mohd Nazri Wan Abdul Rahman

Kelempayan is a lesser-known, fast growing species and can be cultivated in Malaysia. This species has the potential as an alternative resources for the coming years due to shortage of rubberwood which is the most popular raw material for Malaysian furniture and panel board industries. This study was conducted to explore the potential of kelempayan for particleboard manufacturing and to characterize mechanical properties and water resistance of kelempayan particleboard as affected by various levels of hot pressing temperatures (HPT) and board densities. Single layer particleboard was fabricated from 2.0 mm particle size and bonded with 7% phenol formaldehyde (PF) adhesive. Variation of HPT (145°C and 165°C) and board densities (500, 600, 700 kg/m3) were used as variable factors. The experimental panels were tested for modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rupture (MOR), internal bonding strength (IB) and thickness swelling (TS) according to the procedures defined by Malaysian Standard (MS). Overall results showed that samples made from density 700 kg/m3 had the highest MOE, MOR, IB and TS values whereas the physical and mechanical properties of boards with different HPT were insignificantly different. However, boards with l65°C HPT are slightly higher in mechanical properties but lower water resistance. It appears that thickness swelling values in this study exhibited insufficient results for furniture in accordance to MS. We concluded that kelempayan possesses potential for particleboard manufacturing with promising qualities.