The First Thai-Biomass Utilization Symposium

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Effective Utilization of Forest Biomass for Regional People in Thailand

Particleboards from Durian Peel and Coconut Coir

Sarocha Charoenvai*,
Jongjit Hirunlabh*,
and Joseph Khedari*
Abstract

Manufacturing particleboards from tropical fruit peel particle; durian

(Durio zibethinus) peels and coconut coir (Cocos nucifera); with low thermal
conductivity is the main purpose of this study. Two main parameters were
investigated namely binder types, (UF 12%, PF 6% and IC 3%) and board
density. In general, the effect of adhesive type on the properties of boards was
not obvious whereas that of the density was more significant on most properties
of boards.
Experimental investigation indicated that the mechanical properties of
all boards increased with increasing board density, but this decrease the
dimension stability, expressed by the thickness swelling and the thermal
conductivity as well.

Keywords: Synthetic Binder; Thermal Conductivity; Modulus of Rupture;

Modulus of Elasticity; Agriculture waste
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*Building Scientific Research Center, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi,
Bangmod Rasburana, 91 Pracha U-thit Rd., Thungkru, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
Email address: Joseph.khe@kmutt.ac.th www.kmutt.ac.th/organization/bsrc
 The First Thai-Biomass Utilization Symposium
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Effective Utilization of Forest Biomass for Regional People in Thailand

Introduction

Nowadays, due to forest production and environment awareness the use

of natural wood is steadily decreasing. Technology is used to manufacture
materials from agricultural waste which is considered to substitute natural
wood. The productivity of Thai fruit [1] is anticipated to increase in the future
and the associated produced waste will lead to social and environmental
problems, if we are unable to dispose them.
After a series of preliminary tests on thermal conductivity and bulk
density of peels of fruits [2], it was found that durian (Durio zibethinus) and
young coconut (Cocos nucifera) are the most suitable to be used due to their
low thermal conductivity.
The objective of this research work is to evaluate the suitability of
durian peel and coconut coir as raw materials for particleboard to be used as
construction panel with low thermal conductivity for energy conservation of
building [3]. That obviously implies the study of some of the relevant
parameters thought to be significant in relation to particleboard performance
such as board density and adhesive type.

Particleboard Manufacturing
In this study, three board densities were considered for each products
(0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 g/cm3 for durian and 0.3, 0.5 and 0.6 g/cm3 for coconut coir)
and three types of commercial adhesives were selected: urea formaldehyde
(UF), phenol-formaldehyde (PF) and isocyanate (IC). The boards were made
with three replicates at each combination, so there are 54 experiment boards.
Raw Materials
The properties of raw material have an effect in both the processing
condition and the properties of end products. It is necessary to know the basic
and chemical properties of fruit peel before preparing sample.
The results of durian peel chemical analysis performed following
TAPPI standard [4] are shown in Table 1. Hemi-cellulose is the difference
between holocellulose and α-cellulose.
It can be seen that durian peels have a rich hemi-cellulose content.
Consequently, wax can be added to composite boards. This would impact the
resistance to absorption of liquid water by the final product
(particleboard). On the contrary, durian peels contains low lignin ratio.
For coconut coir which is the seed-hair fibre obtained form the outer
shell (Endocarp) or husk of the coconut. Chemical composition are given in
Table2. It contains high lignin ratio (45.84%) that makes fibers stiffer and
 The First Thai-Biomass Utilization Symposium
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Effective Utilization of Forest Biomass for Regional People in Thailand

tougher The stiff and tough fibers are difficult to beat, do not conform and
collapse against each other so well. That would like impact manufacturing
process and properties.
Table 1 Chemical composition of durian peel.
Chemical composition Result Standard
(%)
Ethanol-Benzene solubility 16.65 TAPPI-T204-cm-97
Ethanol-Solubility 2.68 TAPPI-T264-cm-97
Lignin 15.45 TAPPI-T222-om-98
Holocellulose 73.54 Acid Chlorite’s Browing
α-cellulose 60.45 TAPPI-T203-cm-88
Hemi-cellulose 13.09 -
Ash 4.35 TAPPI-T211-om-93

Table 2 Chemical composition of coconut coir [4].

Chemical composition Unit (%)
Water solubles 5.25
Pectin and related compounds 3.00
Hemi-cellulose 0.25
Lignin 45.84
Cellulose 43.44
Ash 2.22

Particle Preparation
Based on general methods [5] of particle processing with a serie of
preliminary tests, particle preparation was made as follows: the first step was to
reduce the raw materials to approximately pulp-chip size (1 × 2 cm2). The
chip-size pieces were oven-dried at 80 °C for 8 hours. Dried durian chips were
hammermilled. Coconut coir fibres were cut to about one centimeter. Next
fibers were screened to remove excess fines by Sieve Machine over a 60 mesh
 The First Thai-Biomass Utilization Symposium
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Effective Utilization of Forest Biomass for Regional People in Thailand

screen. The particle furnishes were returned to dry before used in making
particleboards.
Board Preparation
The resin solid content of adhesives of particle furnish based on oven-
dry weight were: UF 12%, PF 6% and IC 3% [6]. For all types, a paraffin wax
emulsion of 1% solid wax based on oven-dry weight of particle furnish should
be added. The adhesive was sprayed on particles in a rotating drum blending
machine with air-atomization nozzles. The moisture contents of particlemat
were controlled at 12%. The blended particles were felted by hand into the final
mat with a forming box (300 × 300 mm). All boards made using phenolic resin
were pressed to 10 mm stops using a platen temperature of 180 °C. Boards
made with urea resin and IC were pressed to 10 mm thickness using a platen
temperature of 150 °C. Applying a three step-down method of pressing (25, 15
and 10 kgf /cm2) was applied for the boards. The total pressing time was 9
minutes.
Specimen Preparation and Testing
After the hot pressing, [7] all boards were stacked in order to be
completely cured for 24 hours and then trimmed and cut into various test
specimens. The specimens were conditioned in a conditioning room until they
reached equilibrium for at least two weeks at room temperature. After
conditioning to equilibrium weight. Standard specimen size and test procedures
as outlined in JIS A 5908 (Japanese Standard Association 1994) were used
throughout, except for the thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity of
the particleboards were measured by using a guarded heat flux method in
accordance with BS 874 Part 2 (British Standard).
 The First Thai-Biomass Utilization Symposium
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Effective Utilization of Forest Biomass for Regional People in Thailand

Results and Discussion

Tables 3 summarizes all test results. The manufacture durian boards
and coconut coir boards are shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig.1 Durian borards Top: PF bonded board, Right bottom:

UF bonded boardand Left bottom: IC bonded board.

Fig.2 Coconut coir boards Top: PF bonded board, Right bottom:

UF bonded board and Left bottom: IC bonded board
 The First Thai-Biomass Utilization Symposium
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Effective Utilization of Forest Biomass for Regional People in Thailand

Table 3. Physical and mechanical properties of particleboards form durian

peels (D) and coconut coir fibres (C).

Boards
Binder MC TS WA MOR MOE IB
Density
Type (%) (%) (%) (kgf/cm2) (kgf/cm2) (kgf/cm2)
(g/cm3)
0.336 11.20 21.980 151.900 - - -
UF 0.590 10.43 29.418 106.770 49.878 6993 2.562
(D) 0.860 8.92 30.648 49.853 251.772 37761 18.938
0.360 11.68 14.957 157.139 - - -
PF 0.610 10.19 39.928 88.550 81.546 11844 2.793
(D) 0.850 8.04 41.225 57.803 215.572 34116 18.729
0.332 13.39 31.148 189.235 - - -
IC 0.570 10.30 87.653 146.175 28.146 4848 2.199
(D) 0.920 9.04 104.273 58.118 124.938 76194 17.901
0.360 6.805 23.995 156.322 - - -
UF 0.588 7.313 35.283 131.895 173.874 21337 2.12
(C) 0.648 7.505 53.353 78.800 260.513 29156 12.645
0.380 7.915 17.973 185.598 - - -
PF 0.518 7.465 26.438 133.853 160.615 13317 3.723
(C) 0.611 7.395 32.635 77.453 419.592 30094 13.07
0.320 7.398 28.508 62.540 - - -
IC 0.545 7.198 26.438 57.283 188.407 16629 1.994
(C) 0.613 7.690 32.303 56.283 202.588 18420 10.669

Effect of board density on moisture content (MC).

The moisture content is inversely proportional with the density in the
case of durian peel boards. The lower density yields higher porosity, spaces
and voids. Consequently the moisture content increases when the porosity
increases as durian fibres and parenchyma can absorb more moisture. It was
also observed that the effect of density of coconut coir boards is not regular on
moisture content as noticed in Table 3. For instance, in case of UF coconut
coir boards made with high resin content (12%), high density boards have high
weight and resin content as well. After blending, the amount of moisture and its
distribution through the high density boards is higher than that of low
density boards. Consequently, high density UF boards get more moisture
content than final low density boards. This observation is not true for the
boards manufactured with the other resins as (PF and IC). Therefore, further
investigations have to be made in order to understand this relationship.
 The First Thai-Biomass Utilization Symposium
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Effective Utilization of Forest Biomass for Regional People in Thailand

Effect of board density on water absorption (WA)

The water absorption is inversely proportional with board density as
the space in the low density boards is larger than that of high density
board of the same thickness. Consequently the water absorption decreases
when the density increases as indicated in Table 3.
Effect of board density on thickness swelling (TS)
It was observed that thickness swelling increases with increasing board
density. At room temperature the thickness swelling of the two kind of
particleboards are rather high in comparison to the standard specification
requirements for particleboards. Hence, it is necessary to research suitable
condition to improve this property. Factor which may contribute to these high
swelling values is hemi-cellulose of the durian peel and coconut coir
fibre. In fact, hemi-cellulose plays an important role in fibre bonding process.
Therefore, the tendency of swelling and shrinkage tend to occur during the
drying process where dense sheets are formed. It is then reasonable to
conclude that the protective influence of the wax is essentially lost.
Effect of board density on MOR (Modulus of Rapture) and MOE (Modulus
of Elastic)
The value MOR and MOE for all boards increased linearly with
increasing boards density. Also, higher density boards are stronger and stiffer,
regardless the type of resin binder used. This is due to the low lignin
content of the durian peel. Therefore, the average MOR of all these data is
rather low in comparison to the average MOR of coconut coir boards. For
the same density range, the average MOE of durian boards is smaller than that
MOE of coconut coir boards.
Effect of board density on internal bond.
Board density is a significant parameter. That affects the internal bond.
The increase of board density results in more intimate contact between the
particle in the mat being compressed into the final board. Consequently, for
high density board adhesive transfer of from one particle layer to another
results in the increase of cross link between the particle in the board. It was
also observed internal bond of durian boards is high in comparison with
coconut coir boards. In fact, as durian boards have more void than coconut coir
boards, resin is lost in interparticle voids in durian boards.
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Effective Utilization of Forest Biomass for Regional People in Thailand

Effect of board density on thermal conductivity.

Thermal conductivity versus board density for all boards is plotted in
Figures 3 and 4. As expected, a consistent dependence of conductivity on
density was observed. The thermal conductivity of the duiran boards is less
than the conductivity of boards made from the coconut coir fibre. This is
probably due to the insulating effect of the voids in the durian peel as a
hygroscopic, porous material.
Thermal conductivity (W/m.K)

0.2
y = 0.242x - 0.0177
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Board density (g/cm3)

Fig. 3 Thermal conductivity of durian peel board VS board density

Thermal conductivity (W/m.K)

0.2 y = 0.1882x - 0.0176

0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
3
Board density (g/cm )

Fig. 4 Thermal conductivity of coconut coir boards VS. board density

 The First Thai-Biomass Utilization Symposium
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Effective Utilization of Forest Biomass for Regional People in Thailand

Comparison between particleboard and medium density fiberboard

A comparison of properties of durian particleboards and rubber wood
medium density fiberboards (MDF) [8] is shown in Table 4.
This table reveals that
1. The MOR of durian particleboard is not different from rubber wood
MDF.
2. The MOE and internal bond of rubber wood MDF is lower than
durian particleboard by 22 and 61 percentage, respectively. Hence, fiber-based
particleboards could be used for ceiling roof housing.
3. The thickness swelling of durian particleboard is more than rubber
wood MDF because of the high hemicellulose content in durian peel.
Although no rubber wood MDF’s thermal conductivity is compared to
durian partilcleboard, it is expected that the thermal conductivity of
particleboard is expected to be lower than fiberboard.
Table 4 Comparison between durian particleboards and rubber wood medium
density fiberboards.

Properties and Durian Rubber wood MDF

standards particleboards
Adhesive type Urea-formaldehyde Urea-formaldehyde
12% 13%
% Solid resin 69.70 62.00
content
Additive Wax 1 % Wax 1%
Density (kg/cm3) 850.000 806.469
MOR (MPa) 25.177 28.407
MOE (MPa) 3776.100 2947.234
Internal bond (MPa) 1.8936 1.177
Thickness swelling 30.648 21.721
Standards JIS A 5908 A 1994 JIS 5906 A 1983

Conclusion
Experimental investigation indicated manufacturing particleboards
from durian peels and coconut coir fibres with low thermal conductivity is
feasible. Their thermal conductivity (durian and coconut coir fibre boards) is
fairly low varying between 0.054 to 0.1854 W/m.K. Such low values would
certainly help for promoting those boards as a component of construction
material (ceiling, wall) for energy saving. However, the strength of boards is
quite low due to the structure of agricultural waste which is different from
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Effective Utilization of Forest Biomass for Regional People in Thailand

wood. The density of durian UF boards is in the range of 0.8-0.9 g/cm3. The
specimen properties are as follows: thermal conductivity of 0.1513 W/m.K,
MOR of 251.772 kgf/cm2 , MOE of 37761 kgf/cm2, internal bond of
18.936 kgf/cm2 and thickness swelling of 30.648 %. The properties of PF
coconut coir boards are as following 0.51-0.54 g/cm3: thermal conductivity of
0.1036 W/m.K, MOR of 160.615 kgf/cm2 , MOE of 13317 kgf/cm2,
internal bond of 3.723 kgf/cm2 and thickness swelling of 26.438 %.

Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Thailand Research Fund (TRF) for
partial financial support this research. The authors are also grateful to Dr.
Nikhom Laemsak of the Kasetsart University for his kind advise and agreement
to carry out the preparation and part of tests of particleboards at his laboratory.

References

[1] Ministry of Agriculture and Co-op, 2000, Statistic of Planting of Fruit

Trees, Data Processing Sub-Division, Department of Agriculture
Extension, p.30.
[2] Khedari, J., et al., 2000, “New lightweight composite construction
materials with low thermal conductivity,” CECO Journal, No. 804,
pp.1-6.
[3] Kamke, T.M., 1977, “Effects of Wood-Based Panel Characteristics on
Thermal Conductivity,” Forest Products Journal, Vol.38, No.2, pp. 49-
50
[4] http://www.hayleysexport.com/whatis.htm
[5] Maloney, T.M., 1997, Modern Particleboard and Dry Process
Fiberboard Manufacture, USA, Miller Freeman Publication.
[6] Laemsak, N. and Okuma, M., 1996. “Development of boards made
from oil plam frond; manufacture and fundamental properties of oil
plam frond particleboard,” Proceedings of the FORTROP’96, Kasetsart
University, Bangkok, pp. 71-83.
[7] Rice, J.T., 1973, “Particleboard from “Silage” Sycamore Laboratory
Production and Testing.” Forest Products Journal, Vol.23, No.2, pp.28-
34
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Effective Utilization of Forest Biomass for Regional People in Thailand

[8] Thongsumrit, V. and Viengsima, T., 1995, The Study of Solid Content
of Urea-formaldehyde resin to Physical Properties and Mechanical
Properties of Medium Density Fiberboards from Rubber wood (Hevea
brasilliensis, Muell, Arg.),” Bachelor of Civil Construction and wood-
working Technology, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology North
Bangkok, 99p.