PRODUCTION OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE LOW DENSITY FIBREBOARD FROM CO-REFINED RUBBERWOOD-KENAF CORE FIBRES

Authors

  • Md-Tahir P
  • Saharudin MH
  • Anwar UMK
  • Abdul-Halip J
  • Lee SH

Keywords:

Light density fibreboard, rubberwood, kenaf core, physical, mechanical

Abstract

A 50:50 kenaf core to rubberwood ratio were used to fabricate low-density fibreboards. Firstly, the fibres were co-refined at 180 °C for 10 min. Refined fibres were sieved on six levels of size distribution. Results on fibre size distribution concluded that the co-refined fibres were similar in size, in comparison to commercial rubberwood fibres. Low-density fibreboards were fabricated using the admixture of both rubberwood and kenaf core fibres. The results showed that board density played a greater role in producing high quality lightweight fibreboard rather than resin content. The study also revealed that low density fibreboards with acceptable properties could be successfully produced. Low-density fibreboards (550 kg m-3) had comparable physical and mechanical properties to those of commercial MDF (720 kg m-3). Nevertheless, a slightly higher resin content of 14% is needed, in comparison to the commercial MDF. Combining kenaf core and rubberwood fibres improved the internal bonding strength significantly. A total of 80% of the low-density fibreboards produced in this study passed the British Standard 622-5: 2009 even at a board density as low as 350 kg m-3.

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Published

2020-01-29

How to Cite

P, M.-T., Saharudin MH, Anwar UMK, Abdul-Halip J, & Lee SH. (2020). PRODUCTION OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE LOW DENSITY FIBREBOARD FROM CO-REFINED RUBBERWOOD-KENAF CORE FIBRES. Journal of Tropical Forest Science (JTFS), 32(1), 017–024. Retrieved from https://jtfs.frim.gov.my/jtfs/article/view/119

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