Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education – Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bengaluru 560 003, Karnataka, Bengaluru, India
Ramkumar Velayutham Ramamoorthy
Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education – Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bengaluru
Mugahed Amran
Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj 16273, Saudi Arabia
Anand Nandanwar
Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education – Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bengaluru 560 003, Karnataka, Bengaluru, India
Prakash Vijayakumar
Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education – Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bengaluru 560 003, Karnataka, Bengaluru, India
Siva Avudaiappan
Departamento de Ciencias de la Construcción, Facultad de Ciencias de la Construcción y Ordenamiento Territorial, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Santiago 8330383, Chile
Pablo Guindos
Faculty of Architecture and Centro de Innovación Tecnológica en Edificación e Enxeneria Civil (CITEEC), Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain; Centro Nacional de Excelencia para la Industria de la Madera (CENAMAD), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna, 4860, Santiago, Chile
This study assessed the feasibility of using major agricultural residues specifically bagasse, rice straw, wheat straw, and coir fiber to produce single-layer particle boards. These boards of densities 300, 400, and 500 kg/m³ were developed using melamine urea formaldehyde resin. Comprehensive evaluation of the boards included determination of their sound absorption coefficient (SAC), thermal conductivity, and noise reduction coefficient (NRC), as well as various physical properties and modulus of rupture. Additionally, the impact of board density on the SAC across a frequency range of 50 to 5000 Hz was examined. The coir boards displayed superior SAC, particularly at 3000 Hz. Rice straw boards at a density of 300 kg/m³ exhibited the lowest thermal conductivity (0.098 W/m-K). Density of 300 kg/m³ was optimal for achieving the highest SAC and lowest thermal conductivity in agro residue particle boards. As the density of the boards increased, SAC decreased, whereas thermal conductivity (K) increased, indicating that lower-density boards are more effective as sound and thermal insulators. Furthermore, all particle boards demonstrated promising sound absorption capabilities, achieving classifications of D and E under ISO 11654:1997, making them viable for interior applications in the building industry.