Investigation of agro-industrial lignocellulosic wastes in fabrication of particleboard for construction use

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of agro-industrial lignocellulosic wastes addition on the mechanical properties and density profile of particleboards made with eucalypt wood. Agro-industrial wastes as macadamia nut carpel, coffee husk and papaya stem were used in percentages of 10, 20 and 30 respectively, in the particleboard composition. The panels were produced by compression molding with nominal density of 700 kg m(-3). Mechanical properties as modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, screw withdrawal resistance, internal bond and Janka hardness mechanical properties of particleboards bonded with urea-formaldehyde and 50% tannin solution of Acacia mearnsii with ratio of 90:10 resin were also determined. X-ray densitometry was used to study the density profile of the particleboards. In general, the mechanical properties of the particleboards contend agro-industrial waste were inferior to the control based on eucalypts wood. The density profile in some compositions suggests a homogeneous behavior, similar to the M format; however, the proportion of the wastes interferes in this format, without potentially compromising the internal bonding properties and Janka hardness. Although the particleboard for agro-industrial waste shows overall a reduced performance, it can be affirmed that 10% of the waste meets the requirements for particleboards of general use. Environmental gains are promising since inappropriate disposal would be avoided.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the effects of adding agro-industrial lignocellulosic wastes to particleboards made with eucalypt wood. While the mechanical properties of these particleboards were generally inferior to the control group, the addition of 10% of the waste was found to meet the requirements for particleboards of general use. The environmental gains of using these wastes are promising as it helps avoid inappropriate disposal.