Abstract:
Agricultural residues are materials generated in large quantities in Ethiopia, and recycling
them is a viable alternative to improper disposal in landfills, which can have negative
environmental consequences. This study aims to develop and characterize particleboard
from recycled coffee husk, maize cob residues, and lowland bamboo chip composition. A
particle size ranging from 0.75mm to 3mm, and a Bamboo/Coffee husk/Maize cob
particleboard (BCMPB) were produced at Debre Birhan plywood production companies in
a variety of particle weight ratios. The particles were bonded using 12% UFR and a hot-pressing machine was used to press particleboard. Experimental testing of BCMPB was
performed to determine mechanical properties (bending, compressive, and impact) strength
under dry and wet conditions, and physical properties (Density, WA, and MC) tests as per
(JIS A 5908) and (ASTM D 1037) standards. Comparatively, for all proposed combinations
of BCMPB, particleboard made from the combination of BCMPB-4 had better physical
and mechanical properties than the other types of BCMPB while BCMPB-6 had the lowest
outcomes in both wet and dry conditions. The proposed solutions BCMPB-4 were validated
with the commercial eucalyptus particleboard and standards. Between them a solid
consensus was reached. Under dry and wet conditions, increasing the bamboo particle
weight ratio and decreasing the coffee husk and maize cob particle weight ratio increased
the mechanical and physical properties of BCMPB. The experimental results confirm that
the bending, compressive, and impact strength of the proposed solutions BCMPB-4 were
higher than the commercial products by 13.05%, 23.06%, and 14.07% under dry conditions
and 23.03%, 15.45%, and 21.25%, under wet conditions respectively, and the results meet
IS3087 standards. Thus, the proposed solution BCMPB-4 made from 75% bamboo, 12.5%
coffee husk, and 12.5% maize cob particles can be a good candidate for replacing
commercial eucalyptus particleboard, and the environment will be protected from the
negative side effects of eucalyptus trees.
Keywords: bamboo, coffee husk, eucalyptus tree, particleboard, maize cob.