Performance assessment of particle board developed from organic wastes using polymer matrix

Abstract

In this work, sugarcane bagasse and rice husk were used as filler material for the production of agro-based particle board along with low-density polyethylene and coconut shell, with the aim of investigating the effects of varying compositions of constituents on the performance of the developed composite using constant process parameters of moulding pressure (10 MPa), moulding temperature (140 ℃), curing time (10 min) and heat treatment time (1 h). Experimental design was conducted using box-Behnken design (L1533) while multi-response optimization was carried out using grey relational analysis (GRA). The experimental results revealed that changes in percentage composition affect the performance of the composite, and the multi-response optimal performance of the developed bagasse-based particle board (BPB) and rice husk-based particle board (RPB) can be achieved with bagasse or rice husk (30 wt%), coconut shell (30 wt%), and low-density polyethylene (40 wt%). The results of the analysis of variance showed that the performance of the two particle boards is most influenced by the presence of low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Finally, compared to rice husk, bagasse can effectively serve as a preferred substitute for wood in the production of particle board.