Sugar beet pulp as raw material for particleboard production

Increasing demand for production of particleboard and environmental concerns drive to seek new sources of lignocellulosic materials other than wood. Sugar beet pulp (SBP) is one of the most common agro-residues, which remains after sugar production. Conducted investigation was to determine the suitability of SBP as a raw material for particleboard manufacturing. Three-layer particleboards with the core layer made of mixture SBP and industrial wood particles were prepared. Tested particleboards varied in proportions of SBP and wood particles used for the core layer. Investigation included following physical and mechanical parameters of boards: density and density profile, thickness swelling (TS), water absorption (WA), modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), internal bond (IB) and screw holding (SH). The results indicated negative impact of high content SBP on the board properties. Particleboards containing up to 30% SBP exceed the minimal requirements for MOR and MOE set in the European standards, for boards for interior fitments (including furniture) for use in dry conditions. The WA and TS values for that variant were similar to control particleboard. All of the particleboards produced with shear of SBP particles in core had higher IB than required.