Agricultural material or biomaterial plays an important role in the field of fibre-reinforced polymeric materials with their new range of applications and achieves the ecological objective. Composition and structure of the nature fibre and matrix must be taken into consideration for the end use. In this project, Sago fibre particleboard bonds with Urea Formaldehyde to form composite. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra are used to characterize the Sago/Urea Formaldehyde composite in terms of their functional group and bonding. Sago/UF composite with smaller particle and higher loading of fibre with 15 wt% of UF matrix has the higher curing properties. The composite will have a denser structure by adopting bigger particle and higher loading of UF matrix. The Sago/UF composite only endures a single stage of decomposition. Thermal stability results indicate that particle size, particle/matrix interface adhesion, and particle loading have great influence on the thermal properties of the composites.

This study examined the effect of density on the thermal stability, physical and mechanical properties of sago particleboard. Sago particles and Urea Formaldehyde (UF) were used as raw materials in the fabrication process. The fabrication and testing method were based on JIS A 5908 standard. The samples were prepared based on different desired density and went through a series of thermal stability, mechanical and physical tests. Mechanical properties of the composites were characterized by tensile, flexural, impact strength, screw test and internal bonding which had great influence on the particleboard performance. All the panels were tested for physical properties (water absorption and thickness swelling) to identify their use for indoor application. Thermal properties like thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for the Sago/UF composites were analysed. The results showed particleboard with 800 kg/m3 exhibited the optimum strength on Internal Bonding, Screw test, Bending and Flexure test. Particleboard with 700 kg/m3 has better performance on Impact test. 500 kg/m3 showed better curing properties with DSC. TGA showed that all the Sago/UF particleboard decompose with single-stage and were decomposed into three main steps like water absorption, volatile and char.

We live in a world where wood products are hard to ignore. The sheer flexibility in the number of applications where the wood is used means that it is one of the most sought resources in the world. The wood products industry faces challenges in promoting sustainable management of forest resources. Composite materials have advantage of having an optimized performance, minimized weight and volume, cost effectiveness, chemical resistance and resistance to biodegradation. The research in this paper is focused on sago particles with adhesive of low emission urea formaldehyde (UF) resin 51.6% solid content. The fabrication and testing method are based on JIS A 5908 standard. A single-layer particleboard by using the sago particles has been established at targeted density level 600kg/m3. Particles with weight fractions of 90%, 85%, 80%, 75% and 70% were used in the fabrication of sago composite boards. The results of the test demonstrated that the samples with different weight fraction and size have great influence on the mechanical properties like: MOR, screw test and internal bonding. The findings had demonstrated that the level of weight fraction and size had affects the performance of a board. At the next stage of the research the comparison between sago and wood particleboard will be carried out to identify the feasibility of these materials in the industrial application.

Every year, the sago processing industry in Sarawak-Mukah had generated huge amount of sago waste after the milling process and scientists have employ the waste into composite material. The fabrication and testing method are based on the Japanese A5908 Industrial Standard. Single-layer particleboards with targeted density of 600kg/m3 were produced from different sizes of sago particles. The mechanical properties of sago waste were investigated to study the feasibility of using this sample as a raw material in particleboard manufacturing. The results of the test demonstrate that samples with different sizes of particles have great influence on the mechanical properties such as Young’s Modulus, Tensile Strength and Impact Strength. The findings show that the performance of the board is affected by the different sizes of sago particles used in the experiment and had proved that sago plants can be used as an alternative raw material in the particleboard manufacturing industry.

Abstract. Sago processing industry in Sarawak-Mukah annually had generated huge amount of Sago waste. In order to reduce the waste from becoming a serious environment problem, researchers employ the sago waste combine with urea formaldehyde to create a good particleboard. This study examined the effect of weight fraction of Sago on the mechanical properties of Sago particleboard. Sago particles and urea formaldehyde (UF) were used as raw material in the fabrication process. The fabrication and testing method are based on JIS A 5908 standard. The samples were prepared based on different weight fraction of Sago and went through the tensile and impact test which had great influence on the particleboard performance and show that sago particles can be an alternative raw material in the manufacture of particleboards.