Evaluation of Fruit and Vegetable Containers Made from Mulberry Wood (<i>Morus Alba</i> L.) Waste

Abstract

Mulberry trees (Morus alba L.) are used as ornamental and shade trees in urban gardening in Spain. These trees must be pruned once a year, and the waste is usually sent to the tip. Current research efforts aim to optimize biomass-based material sources and reduce the pressure on natural and planted forests. The objective of this study was to produce fruit and vegetable containers using particleboards made from mulberry tree pruning waste and to evaluate their properties. Mulberry particleboards were made and their mechanical properties were tested to demonstrate their suitability for industrial uses. Afterwards, the containers made with mulberry particleboards were tested. The strength of the containers was less than 5000 kg to dynamic compressive strength. Deformation by stacking was 3.15 mm, which is less than the maximum allowed of 6.1 mm, and flexural deformation of the base was 2 mm.

Keywords

• particleboards
• containers
• mechanical properties
• waste recovery