Experimental Investigation of Sorghum Stalk and Sugarcane Bagasse Hybrid Composite for Particleboard

Abstract

This study evaluated the physical-mechanical properties of three-layer particleboard made from sorghum stalk and sugarcane bagasse hybrid reinforced bonded with urea-formaldehyde resin. The production of particleboards using the sorghum and bagasse particles has been established at the ratio of (25 : 50 : 75) sorghum stalk and sugarcane bagasse with urea-formaldehyde as a matrix at different concentrations (50 kg/m3, 60 kg/m3, and 70 kg/m3) and pressing pressure (18 MPa, 20 MPa, and 22 MPa) through hand mixing from 3 to 5 minutes and then hot press within a temperature range of 160°C to 180°C for 4 minutes. The particleboards were produced with their proportions through the Taguchi design of the experiment (L9) approach. The experimental results were analyzed using Taguchi design and ANOVA with a general linear model. The experimental results showed that internal bonding, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, and moisture content were significantly improved with high resin content and pressing pressure from 18 MPa to 22 MPa. The thickness swelling value also dropped where the resin concentration varies from 50 kg/m3 to 70 kg/m3 and shows better board stability. In contrast, the water absorption increased as resin content was increased. Results from ANOVA provide that SS3B1P3UFR3 (3 : 1 ratio of Sorghum with bagasse, 22 MPa of pressing load, and 70 kg/m3 urea-formaldehyde concentration) is the most optimal combination of variables for the better performance of particleboard.