Properties of Fibers Prepared from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch for Use as Corrugating Medium and Fiberboard

Abstract

This research was aimed at improving the utilization of waste generated by the palm oil industry by identi- fying the conditions needed to make fibers suitable for products such as paperboard and fiberboard from the empty fruit bunch（EFB）of oil palm（Elaeis guineensis）．For this, the chemical pretreatment conditions needed to mechanically produce a pulp for paperboard were studied, as well as the effects of varying these conditions on the fiber properties. The optimum conditions to achieve the highest paper strength were found to be a NaOH dosage of ２％,pretreatment time of２h at１２１℃and refiner disk―clearance of０．１０mm. This EFB pulp exhib- ited similar tensile and tear indices to a pulp prepared from an old corrugated fiberboard box, and on the basis of this, it was considered acceptable for use in corrugating medium. Subsequent fabrication of fiberboard and clari- fication of its resistance to fungal attack found that the mechanical properties of EFB fiberboard made from unrefined fibers are lower than Japanese Industrial Standards；however, its resistancetobrown―rot and white―rot fungus is better than that of board made from sugi（Cryptomeria japonica）