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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #183364

Title: MEDIUM-DENSITY PARTICLEBOARDS FROM SALINE JOSE TALL WHEATGRASS

Author
item ZHENG, YI - UC DAVIS, DAVIS, CA
item Pan, Zhongli
item ZHANG, RUIHONG - UC DAVIS, DAVIS, CA
item JENKINS, BRYAN - UC DAVIS, DAVIS, CA
item BLUNK, SHERRY - UC DAVIS, DAVIS, CA

Submitted to: American Society of Agricultural Engineers Meetings Papers
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/2005
Publication Date: 7/17/2005
Citation: Zheng, Y., Pan, Z., Zhang, R., Jenkins, B., Blunk, S. 2005. Medium-density Particleboards from Saline Jose Tall Wheatgrass. American Society of Agricultural Engineers Meetings Papers. ASAE Paper No. 056127. p. 1-12. St. Joseph, MI.

Interpretive Summary: Jose Tall Wheatgrass (JTW), Agropyron elongatum, is a salt resistant biomass crop currently produced in California to help manage saline subsurface drainage water. There is a need to find high value uses for such material. The objective of this study was to characterize the mechanical properties and water resistance of medium density particleboard made from saline JTW. The particleboards made with PMDI had the highest mechanical strength at 8% MC of particles. When the density of the particleboards increased, both mechanical strength and the water resistance were improved.

Technical Abstract: Jose Tall Wheatgrass (JTW), Agropyron elongatum, is a salt resistant crop currently produced in California to help manage saline subsurface drainage water. There is a need to find high value uses for such material. The objective of this study was to characterize the mechanical properties and water resistance of medium-density particleboard made from saline JTW. A two-factor factorial experiment design was used to determine the effects of NaOH treatment and type of adhesives, including polymeric methane diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI) and Urea formaldehyde (UF) resin, on mechanical properties and water resistance of finished particleboards. To study the binding capability of the particles, NaOH treatment was used to wash the particles for removing the wax and inorganic silica on the surface of JTW. This study also characterized the effects of different particleboard densities (0.71, 0.72, 0.73, 0.74, and 0.75 g/cm3) and initial moisture contents (MC) of the particles (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10%) on mechanical properties and water resistance of particleboards. Water resistance and mechanical properties of finished particleboard were measured. The water resistance properties included water absorption and thickness swell and mechanical properties included modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), internal bond strength (IB), and tensile strength (TS). The particleboards made with PMDI showed superior mechanical strength and water resistance compared with those made with UF regardless of the use of NaOH treatment. The NaOH treatment deteriorated the mechanical strength and water resistance capability of the particleboards, but did not affect the contact angles between the adhesives and JTW. When the density of the particleboards increased, both mechanical strength and the water resistance were improved. Among the five MC tested, from the particles of 8% initial MC resulted in the best mechanical properties and water resistance of the particleboard.