Andong bamboo (Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea) is one of the most important bamboo species widely planted in West Java, Indonesia, and play a prominent role in the rural economy. The bottom and the middle parts of Andong bamboo culms are suitable for laminated bamboo lumber raw material. To improve the efficiency of bamboo utilization, the upper part of Andong bamboo culms were use as raw material for strandboard production. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of strand length and specific pressure on the properties of bamboo strandboard. Laboratory scale of bamboo strandboards were fabricated using three different strand lengths (75, 100, and 150 mm), two different specific pressures applied (25 kg/cm2 and 30 kg/cm2) and glued with phenol formaldehyde with the targeted density of 0.75 g/cm3. Some physical and mechanical properties of bamboo strandboards were determined. Results showed that the average physical properties of bamboo srandboards were 9.3% (moisture content), 0.76 g/cm3 (density), 3.1% (thickness swelling), 1.6% (wide expansion), and 25.1% (water absorpsion). The average mechanical properties of bamboo srandboards were 760.5 kgf/cm2 (MOR), 92.3 103kgf/cm2 (MOE), 5.6 kgf/cm2 (IB), and 56.5 kgf (screw holding power). Some physical and mechanical properties of bamboo strandboard were significantly affected by strand length and specific pressure.

A bactericidal property of Cymbopogon nardus oil (CNO) has been investigated in the previous study. This study aimed to confirm the bactericidal activity of Cymbopogon nardus against different bacteria strains. CNO with the concentration of 1%, 3% and 8% were injected into 100 mL canned tubes. Each sample was diluted by hard water and added with a bacterial suspension test in the presence of interfering substance. The mixture was maintained at 20 °C for 5 min. Water shall be new distilled water-not demineralized water. At the end of contact time, an aliquot was taken, and bactericidal activity was immediately neutralized by the diluted-neutralization method. Neutralizers used in this study were: peptone 10 gL−1, beef extract 5 gL−1, NaCl 5 gL−1, soy lecithin 1 gL−1 and polysorbate 80 20 gL−1; while the interfering substance was 0.3 gL−1 bovine albumin for clean conditions. The number of cells in the bacterial suspension test per treatment was 1.54 x 108 cfu mL−1. It was verified that there was no toxic active chemical compounds found after the application of neutralizer and dilution-neutralization method. The output of this study was a bactericidal against strains: Escherichia coli (ATCC®10536™), Staphylococcus aureus subsp. Aureus (ATCC®6538™) and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium (ATCC®14028™).

Indonesia is the largest oil palm producer in the world and it was predicted that around 7 million metric tons was left in the field as a replanting waste, including palm frond and trunk. The utilization of this waste as a raw material of composite products may overcome the problem. The objective of this study was to determine the physical and mechanical properties of Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) made of oil palm trunk. Laboratory scale five-ply LVLs glued with urea formaldehyde adhesive were fabricated with five types of layer compositions i.e five-ply LVL with all layers made of oil palm trunk veneers (OP), five-ply LVL with face and back layers made of jabon veneers (J2), five-ply LVL with face, back and center core layers made of jabon veneers (J3), five-ply LVL with face and back layers made of mahoni veneers (M2), and five-ply LVL with face, back and center core layers made of mahoni veneers (M3). Results showed that the physical and mechanical properties of laminated veneer lumbers made from oil palm trunk were affected by layer compositions. Incorporating jabon or mahoni wood veneers in the structure of oil palm LVL improved the physical and mechanical properties of LVL.

In this study, the chemical components and termiticidal activities of bamboo vinegar against subterranean termite were evaluated. Bamboo vinegar used in this study were produced from Mayan (Gigantochloa robusta Kurz.), Balcoa (Bambusa balcooa Roxb.), and Taiwan (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro). It was analyzed by gravimetric methods. Rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) was soaked for 24 h and tested against Coptotermes curvignathus Holmgren according to the Indonesian National Standard (SNI 7207-2014). The bamboo vinegar demonstrated antitermite activities against subterranean termite. Vinegar of 400℃ recorded higher total phenol and acid than that of 300℃. Results from this study suggest that the phenolic and acidic component of the bamboo vinegar contributed to 100% mortality rate of the termite, some wood weight loss, and a decrease in the termite feeding rate. These results strongly recommend that bamboo vinegar from D. latiflorus Munro is a potential environmentally friendly preservative.

This study was carried out to investigate the characteristics of laminated bamboo and damar (Agathis loranthifolia Salisb.) wood as the core layer of the bamboo-damar hybrid composite beam. Andong bamboo (Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea (Steud.) Widjaja) and mayan bamboo (Gigantochloa robusta Kurz.) were used as the face and back layers of the beam, glued with isocyanate adhesive. Four types of composite beam were produced with various number of laminated bamboo layers. Results showed that the four layers (two layers for each face and back sides) laminated andong bamboo performed superior mechanical properties than others hybrid composite beam, while the four layers (two layers for each face and back sides) laminated mayan bamboo demonstrated the highest compression and bonding strength. The density, MOR, MOE and compression strength of the hybrid composite beam improved 31.3%, 25.95%, 37.81% and 25.12%, respectively, as the outcomes of the incorporation of laminated andong bamboo on the outer layers of the damar board. This paper proves that the number of laminated bamboo layers enhances the properties of the bamboo-damar hybrid composite beam. Furthermore, it shows promising result for complementing furniture and interior design materials as the bamboo-damar hybrid composite beam has remarkable properties.