Effects of Compression Ratio and Phenolic Resin Concentration on the Properties of Laminated Compreg Inner Oil Palm and Sesenduk Wood Composites

Abstract

Due to its inferior properties, oil palm wood (OPW) extracted from the inner layer of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) trunk, referred as inner OPW in this study, is frequently regarded as a waste. Phenolic resin treatment and lamination of inner OPW with other hardwoods may be an excellent way to improve the properties of the inner OPW. In this study, inner OPW were treated with two different concentrations (15% and 20%) of low molecular weight phenol formaldehyde resin (LmwPF) and compressed at different compression ratios (10%, 20%, and 30%). The physical and mechanical properties of the modified inner OPW’s were evaluated according to British Standards (BS) 373: 1957. The results revealed that inner OPW treated with the highest compression ratio (30%) and resin concentration (20%) exhibited the highest weight percent gain, polymer retention and density. In the following phase of the research, the treated inner OPW was used as the core layer in the fabrication of a three-layer laminated compreg hybrid composites, with untreated and treated sesenduk (Endospermum diadenum) wood serving as the face and back layers. The compression ratios of 10% and 20% and resin concentrations of 10% and 20% were used in this phase of study as laminated boards made with 30% compression ratio failed. The findings showed that resin concentration had a significant impact on both the inner OPW and the laminated compreg hybrid panels. Markedly, higher resin concentrations (20%) resulted in improved physical properties, i.e., thickness swelling and water absorption, as well as enhanced mechanical properties (modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity). Although compression ratios had no significant effect on the properties of the laminated products, those compressed at higher compression ratios (20%) performed slightly better than the panels compressed at lower compression ratios (10%).

Composite of Poly(Vinyl Chloride) Plastisol and Wood Flour as a Potential Coating Material

“…Various traditional thermoplastics such as polythene, polypropylene, acrylonitrilebutadiene-styrene copolymers, polyamide, polystyrene, poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl acetate), and polycarbonate were used as matrixes of polymer-wood composites [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. These materials were also manufactured using thermosetting plastics like epoxy, polyurethane, and phenolic resin [11][12][13][14][15][16]. Fibre, wood chips, sawdust, and wood flour were used as fillers [3,4,8,9,11].…”

“…Fibre, wood chips, sawdust, and wood flour were used as fillers [3,4,8,9,11]. The wood material came from both deciduous and coniferous trees [6,[15][16][17]. Fillers were used in their original form and after preliminary modification, which may include the removal of lignin, coating with magnetic particles, attachment of epoxy and methacrylate groups, and even modifications using ionising radiation [4,5,7,11,13,14].…”

Surface Characteristics of Phenolic Resin Coatings

“…It is therefore no surprise that PRs are widely used as wood adhesives, applied to for instance fibre-and particleboards or exterior-grade plywood [1,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Without any prior chemical modification, PRs exhibit good chemical resistance and are known to enhance the adhesive strength of wood substrates [12,14,15].…”

“…It is therefore no surprise that PRs are widely used as wood adhesives, applied to for instance fibre-and particleboards or exterior-grade plywood [1,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Without any prior chemical modification, PRs exhibit good chemical resistance and are known to enhance the adhesive strength of wood substrates [12,14,15]. Extensive research has also been carried out on the effect of chemical modification of PRs with for instance lignin, in order to increase mechanical and adhesive properties when applied on wood substrates [17][18][19][20][21].…”

Advanced Eco-Friendly Wood-Based Composites II

“…Free formaldehyde emissions from the created wood-based composites has been linked to seriously detrimental human health effects, including irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and skin; nausea (short-term exposure); as well as respiratory problems and cancer (long-term exposure) [14][15][16][17][18]. The transition towards a circular, low-carbon woodbased panel industry, increased environmental concerns related to the use of unsustainable petroleum-based resources and the strict legislative requirements of free formaldehyde release from engineered wood composites have tremendously increased the research and development of 'green', eco-friendly wood-based composites [19][20][21][22][23][24][25], optimal valorisation of available lignocellulosic resources [26][27][28][29][30], and use of alternative raw materials [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. The adverse free formaldehyde emission from wood-based composites can be mitigated by coating the surfaces of finished composites, by adding various organic or inorganic formaldehyde scavengers to synthetic wood adhesives, or by using bio-based, environmentally friendly wood adhesives [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49].…”