Particleboards from chemically modified rice husks and soybean protein concentrate - based adhesives

CIANNAMEA, EMILIANO M; STEFANI, PABLO M; RUSECKAITE, ROXANA A.; JIMENEZ, ALFONSO

San Sebastián

Conferencia; COMAT/COMP 2009; 2009

The technical feasibility of using rice husk (RH) as wood substitute in the production of environmentally sound medium-density particleboards using modified soybean protein concentrate (SPC) as adhesive was evaluated. Chemical modification of RH with NaOH and NaOH followed by H2O2 were undertaken to evaluate the effect on the composition and topology of RH. Both treatments were efficient in partially eliminate hemicelluloses, lignin and silica from RH, as evidenced by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) observations suggested that alkaline treatment resulted in a more damaged RH substrate than bleaching. Bleached RH – based panels displayed the best set of final properties. Particleboards with this formulation met the minimum requirements of internal bond (IB), modulus of rupture (MOE) and modulus of elasticity (MOR) recommended by the U.S. Standard ANSI/A208.1 specifications for M1, MS and M2-grade medium density particleboards, but resulted in high thickness swelling (TS) values. This limitation was counterbalance by the advantage of being formaldehyde-free which makes them suitable for indoor applications.