Quality of particleboard made from rattan waste

Abstract

Indonesia as a tropical country has a various source of renewable resources; rattan is one of them. Rattan (Calamus rotang L.) is mainly utilized as raw material for furniture. Several wastes such as core and bark are produced during the process of furniture making. This research was conducted to investigate the properties of particleboard made from core and rattan bark. Rattan particle with moisture content less than 5% was mixed with the adhesive. Phenol formaldehyde (PF) 12% was used as the adhesive. The mixed particle was then hot pressed for 10 minutes at 150 °C with 25 kgf/cm2. Board dimension was 25 x 25 x 1 cm. Before testing, boards were conditioned for seven days. Testing was conducted for physical and mechanical properties according to JIS A 5908-2003. Surface roughness testing, as well as wettability, was also conducted to investigate the surface properties of particleboard.