Modified wheat gluten as a binder in particleboard made from reed

To evaluate the utilization of reed in environmental friendly high-density particleboard, modified wheat gluten was used with urea-formaldehyde as a binder in different ratios, applying the optimum conditions obtained on using UF resin alone. The scanning electron microscopy of the reed fibers showed that the fibers are cylindrical in shape, which helps in enhancing the adhesion between the binder and the inner and outer surfaces of the fibers. The dependence of the mechanical properties (modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity and the internal bond) and the physical properties (water absorption and thickness swelling) on the urea-formaldehyde /modified gluten ratios was studied. Addition of 1% and 2% boric acid as a fungicide to the binder mixture resulted in no significant change in the mechanical properties and slight improvement in the physical properties of the produced particleboard. Thermogravimetric analyses of selected samples were done to study the thermal stability of the particleboard bonded with the modified binder with and without boric acid.