Properties of particleboard from oil palm trunk / Nurrohana Ahmad

This study was conducted on the Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensiss) to determine its basic properties and its suitability as a raw material for the manufacture of single layer particleboard. The basic properties determined were based on the TAPPI Standards and the manufacture of particleboard was conducted following the Japanese Industrial Standard JIS. Oil palm trunk used in the study was supplied by Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Bangi. Two palms were used for chemical and physical analysis. The average of stem heights was 11.2m. Disks of 20 mm thick were obtained from the three height portion (bottom, middle and top). Samples from each disc were divided into three zones namely near bark, middle, and near pith. Bottom portion of the oil palm trunk had the highest mean density (0.47 g/cm3) and the lowest mean initial moisture content (134%). Portion and distance from the pith significantly affects the oven-dry density and initial moisture content (MC). Height portion showed significant effect on the cold water, hot water, alkali soluble and ash content. The highest cold water (26.53%), hot water soluble (28.04%), and alkali soluble (39.24%) were observed in the top portion and bottom portion for ash content (2.73%) with positive correlation with height portion. The lignin and holocellulose content were insignificantly affected by the height portion. In the manufacture of single layer particleboard, after bark removal, the trunk was further processed into small blocks with a chainsaw and fed through the disc flaker to produce particles. The particles were then air-dried for two days to reduce the moisture content and oven-dried for another 48 hours for a MC of about 5% then screened into sizes (unscreened, 1.0 mm and 2.0 mm).