Production of polymer matrix composite particleboard from walnut shell and improvement of its requirements

Abstract The purpose of this study was to produce urea–formaldehyde based composite particleboard from walnut shell and improve its requirements such as non-flammability, eradication of fungal and insect attack, and water resistance features by using fly ash and phenol–formaldehyde. For this purpose, under laboratory conditions, parameters affecting polymer composite particleboard from walnut shell and urea–formaldehyde were specified to be urea–formaldehyde ratio, reaction temperature, and reaction period, and the effect of these parameters on hardness was investigated. The optimization results showed that maximum bending strength was 3.8 N/mm 2 , at urea–formaldehyde ratio of 1.0, reaction temperature of 70 °C, reaction time of 25 min, walnut shell filler/urea–formaldehyde resin of 3 and mean particle size of 0.12 mm. As a result of burning tests, although the maximum flame temperature of composite particle board without fly ash was 535 °C, it was 299 °C with fly ash of 15% (w/w) according to the filler. Water absorption and increasing in the thickness exponentially decreased with increasing phenol–formaldehyde/urea–formaldehyde ratio.

[1]  L. Matuana,et al.  Properties of wood plastic composites made of recycled HDPE and wood flour from CCA-treated wood removed from service , 2004 .

[2]  A. Grigoriou,et al.  Characterization and utilisation of vine prunings as a wood substitute for particleboard production , 2002 .

[3]  G. Han,et al.  Upgrading of urea formaldehyde-bonded reed and wheat straw particleboards using silane coupling agents , 1998, Journal of Wood Science.

[4]  L. Gothandapani,et al.  Optimum Process Variables for the Production of Coir Pith Particle Board , 1999 .

[5]  Metin Gürü,et al.  Manufacturing of urea–formaldehyde-based composite particleboard from almond shell , 2006 .

[6]  A. Papadopoulos,et al.  The potential for using flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) shiv as a lignocellulosic raw material for particleboard , 2003 .

[7]  R. Gurjar.  Effect of different binders on properties of particle board from cotton seed hulls with emphasis on water repellency , 1993 .

[8]  R. Kozłowski,et al.  Flame resistant lignocellulosic-mineral composite particleboards , 1999 .

[9]  X. Sun,et al.  Low density particleboard from wheat straw and corn pith , 2002 .

[10]  R. Rowell,et al.  Dimensional Stability of Bamboo Particleboards Made from Acetylated Particles *1 , 1988 .

[11]  Han-Seung Yang,et al.  Rice straw-wood particle composite for sound absorbing wooden construction materials. , 2003, Bioresource technology.

[12]  Nurgül Ay,et al.  Suitability of kiwi (Actinidia sinensis Planch.) prunings for particleboard manufacturing , 2003 .