Physical and mechnical properties of oil palm fibres and polyethylene hybrid composite

Hybrid composite boards were manufactured from oil palm trunk (OPT), frond (OPF), empty fruit bunch (EFB) and polyethylene. Four different plastics content of 0%, 5%, 12% and 20% were used in this study. The boards were manufactured to target density of 850 kg m-3. Urea formaldehyde (UF) adhesive was used as a binder at resin level of 10%. The properties of the resultant boards were determined according to the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS-A-5906, 1983). All the OPF boards and all the other boards with 5% and 12% plastic content irrespective of the fibre types satisfied the 200-type board for modulus of rupture as stated in the JIS-A-5906. The OPT boards and all other boards with 0% and 20% plastic content passed the JIS-A-5906 150-type board while the EFB boards only passed the JIS-A-5906 50-type board. For internal bonding (IB), all the boards were able to meet the requirement of JIS-A-5906 300-type board. In the case of thickness swelling (TS), all the boards failed to meet the requirement as specified in the JIS-A-5906 standard. However, the dimensional stability of the boards increased with increased quantity of plastic used.

Releated