The physical and mechanical properties of particleboard manufactured from rubberwood bonded with phenol formaldehyde

Rubberwood is a tropical light hardwood which is common in furniture utilisation such as cabinetry and shelving. This study is conducted to determine the performance of particleboard from rubberwood on different resin level. Panels were manufactured with a targeted density (0.7 g/cm3) and resin level (8% and 12%) by using phenol formaldehyde (PF) as an adhesive. For evaluation of the board quality, the requirements of Europe and American Society (EN and ASTM) are taken as reference. The determination of mechanical properties such as modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity is analysed based on EN 310 while compressive strength test is based on ASTM D1037. For the determination of physical properties testing, thickness swelling and water absorption after 2 and 24 hours has been determined according to EN 317 while density and moisture content is measured based on EN 323 and EN 322. The results indicated increases across the board physical and mechanical properties with higher resin level. The highest modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) value achieved in this study are 6.578 N/mm2 and 383.211 N/mm2 which is bonded with 12 % PF resin. Moreover, the highest value of compressive strength test is 0.0514 N/mm2 for 12 % PF particleboards. None of the particleboards sample meet the requirements of range ideal values for mechanical strength. However, the samples for thickness swelling and water absorption have exceeded the specifications. The actual density also achieves the target density of 0.7 g/cm3. In conclusion, the resin level applied to the manufacturing of rubberwood particleboards influenced the board in terms of its performance which showed the water absorption after 24 hours have significant different value between the two types of resin level.