RUBBERWOOD FOR MEDIUM DENSITY FIBREBOARD

Abstract

Medium density fibreboards were made from Malaysian rubberwood. Three cooking conditions using soaked chips were selected. In the manufacture of the fibreboards at three target densities, urea resin was used as adhesive. The boards from fibres obtained at cooking pressure of 6 kg cm^-2 did not meet the specifications for thickness swelling according to Japanese Industrial Standard JIS 5906. The boards from fibres obtained at cooking pressures of 8 and I0 kg cm^-2 with densities of around 0.4, 0.5 and 0.7 g cm^-3 generally met the board specifications for type JIS-50, JIS-150 and JIS-200 respectively based on the classification by bending strength. The internal bond of all boards, especially at density 0.7 g cm^-3, was excellent.