PRODUCTION OF PARTICLEBOARD FROM RICE HUSK AND LOCUST BEANS POD USING GUM EXTRACT FROM GUILL AND PERR (Cissus populnea)

Abstract

The quest for man’s comfortability has led to increasing degradation of the environmental standard relative to life coexistence. Owing to the facts that the rate of deforestation is alarming and has led to the depletion of the ozone layer, this creates the need for substitute in wood industry. This study focuses on the production of particleboard from rice husk and locust beans pod using gum extract from guill and perr (Cissus populnea). Rice husk and locust beans pod pose to have some of the pozzolanic properties similar to that needed in composite formation, this can be a means of transforming the tagged “Agricultural waste” into furniture’s, hereby diverting the wood exploitation into its conservation. The binding agent in particleboard processing cannot be neglected, as it plays a vital role in it longevity and cost of production. From the study, the gum was extracted using a Soxhlet extractor at different operating conditions (temperature, extraction time and sample dosage) with an optimum condition of 75 °C with 40 g sample dosage at 90 minutes for fresh sample using Ethyl acetate as extraction solvent. Proximate/elemental analysis of the extract shows a viscosity of 0.29 N. s/m2, density of 1.25 g/cm3, 42.8 w/w % of carbon, Ash content of 3.12 w/w %, protein of 5.56 w/w %, Fat content of 0.68 w/w %, fiber content 1.12 w/w % while an FTIR analysis of the extract shows the presence of carboxylic group at wave number of 1680.64 cm−1. From the various particleboards produced, the result from sample tagged J with 1:3 adhesive to rice husk ratio (wt. %) at 70ºC within a pressing time of 10 minutes shows the best Modulus of Elasticity (410 N/mm2), Modulus of Rupture (19.04 N/mm2) with an average density of 1013 kg/m3 and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showing the bonding effects between the adhesive and the aggregate proportion of rice husk used. This was compared with the conventional boards and it shows similar mechanical properties and met the LD-1 requirement of ANSI A208.1Standards.