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Properties of composite boards made from oil palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) at different density and resin content were investigated. The EFB was refined using fiber cutter and particle's crusher. Hardeners and wax were added at 1 and 3% during the mixing process. Boards of densities 500, 600 and 700 kg mG 3 were produced with resin urea formaldehyde at 10, 12 and 14%, respectively. The boards were stored in a conditioning chamber set at 20±2°C and 65% relative humidity before undergoing subsequent testing. Testing procedure was done in accordance with EN Standard and specifications. The results indicated increases across the board physical and mechanical properties. The highest MOR and MOE value achieved in this study were 22.91 and 2059.56 N mmG 2 . Highest value for internal bonding was 0.98 N mmG 2 , meanwhile for edge and face screw withdrawal, 467.47 and 512.37 N mmG 2 . Boards with 700 g cmG 3 density and 14% resin content met all the requirement needed according to standard exercised. Board with the lowest performance was observed using microscopy machine to study the resin-fiber bonding property. Resin and fiber in the board intacted closely but there were voids appeared at the cross-section of the board 500 g cmG 3 density with 10% resin content, suggesting moisture had penetrated into the board via the open spaces and attacked the linkages existed, thus cause the board to have a low property. Thermogravimetric analysis was done to study the thermal stability of the boards manufactured. The maximum rate of decomposition for the OPEFB boards occurred at 380.83°C.

Properties of composite boards from oil palm frond agricultural waste were researched. Phenol and urea formaldehyde resins were used as the binders. The oil palm fronds were obtained from 20 year-old trees in an oil palm plantation in Kota Belud, Sabah. The fronds were segregated into three groups of matured, intermediate, and young oil palm fronds and further subdivided into bottom, middle, and top sections. The leaflets and the epidermis were removed from the fronds before they were sliced longitudinally into thin layers. The layers were then compressed into uniform thickness of 2 to 3 mm. The layers were air-dried and later mixed with resins using 12 to 15% of phenol and urea formaldehyde and recompressed with other layers, forming composite boards. The composite boards samples were then tested for their physical and mechanical properties. Testing was conducted in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard. The results for physical and mechanical properties showed that the oil palm composite boards were better than composite boards from oil palm trunks and slightly worse than the rubberwood. Statistical analysis indicated significant differences between composite boards made from each group and section, but no differences were observed in the type of resin used. The composite boards from oil palm fronds agricultural residues has the potential to be used as an alternative to wood to overcome the shortage in materials in the wood industry.