Medium density particle board from weeds

Medium density particle boards were prepared from three species of weeds viz. Melastoma malabathricum, Eupatorium odoratum and Thysanolaema maxima which were collected from reserve forests of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The proximate chemical analysis of the plant raw materials was carried out. The cellulose contents in the plant varied from 52.6-59.7 percent, the ash and silica contents from 4.6-8.9 percent and 1.78-2.90 percent respectively. The effect of wood particle sizes on strength properties of the boards was studied and boards prepared with 20 percent UF resin from particles of -10M and +20M, showed the maximum modulus of rupture (MOR) (143-152 kg/cm(2)), while MOR had gradually decreased in the boards prepared with finer particles. When quantity of binder was reduced, MOR had decreased and water absorption increased. Boards prepared with mixtures of UF and PF resins in different proportions gave variable MOR (149-159 kg/cm(2)) and water absorption (22-16 percent) properties. However, boards prepared with mixtures of UF and PF resins (50:50) showed reasonably high MOR (153-157 kg/cm(2)). From these results, it could be concluded that weeds could be a good source of raw material for particle board industry.