Manufacture and properties of oriented medium density fiberboard from non-wood lignocellulosic fibers - I. Development of a mechanical orientor and its application to manufacturing oriented fiberboard

A mechanical orientor for aligning long lignocellulosic fibers was newly developed for oriented medium density fiberboard (MDF) production. The orientor consists of multiple pairs of upper-and-lower rollers through which fibers are stretched and straightened. These fibers are subsequently passed between a pair of rubbing belts where they are yarned into fiber bundles. Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) bast fiber and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) empty fruit bunch fiber were used in the experiments for examining the performance of the orientor. The results showed that the orientor was affective for aligning fibers longer than 20 mm, and that the average alignment angles for both fibers could be decreased to less than 10 deg. Oriented MDFs were trial-manufactured. Kenaf MDF with a density of 0.8 g/cm(3) recorded moduli of rupture (MOR) and elasticity (MOE) of 115 MPa and 17.6 GPa, respectively. The ratios of parallel MOR and MOE to the corresponding values in the perpendicular direction were 7.9 and 13. 4, respectively. These results showed the possibility of producing high-strength oriented fiberboards.