TITLE:
Decay Resistance of Particleboards Manufactured with Four Agro-Forest Residues Using Cassava Starch and Urea Formaldehyde as Adhesives
AUTHORS:
Prosper Mensah, Stephen Jobson Mitchual, Mary Mamle Apetorgbor, Kwasi Frimpong-Mensah
KEYWORDS:
Agro-Forest Residue, Cassava Starch, Decay Resistance, Particleboard, Urea Formaldehyde
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Agricultural Chemistry and Environment,
Vol.9 No.4,
November
4,
2020
ABSTRACT: Many factors including depletion of the forest, environmental awareness, and generation of large quantities of agro-forest residues have increased the need to partially or wholly replace wood with agro-forest residue for particleboard production. This study assessed the decay resistance of particleboards produced from four agro-forest residues using cassava starch and urea formaldehyde as adhesives. Musa paradisiaca pseudostem, Theobroma cacao stem and pod, and sawdust of Ceiba pentandrawere used for the study. Properties determined were: Weight loss, decay resistance rating and decay susceptibility index. These properties were evaluated after 12 weeks of exposure to Coriolopsis polyzonain accordance with ASTM D 2017-05. The results indicate that the weight loss for Musa paradisiaca pseudostemparticleboard was least for both urea formaldehyde and cassava starch adhesives. Even though almost all the particleboards produced were classified as resistant or highly resistant to fungi attack, those produced with urea formaldehyde had better decay resistance properties than that of cassava starch. Furthermore, particleboards coated with synthetic polyvinyl lacquer had better resistance to fungi attack than the uncoated ones. At 5% level of significance, the agro-forest residue, adhesive and surface finish as well as their interactions had significant effects on decay resistance of the particleboards produced. It is recommended that further studies which aim at determining the effect of combination of the agro-forest residues and that of urea formaldehyde and cassava starch be conducted to determine their effects on decay properties of particleboards.