Mechanical and physical properties of urea-formaldehyde bonded kenaf core particle boards

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) core particle boards bonded with urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin were produced with three different densities, i.e. 350 kg/m3, 450 kg/ m3 and 550 kg/m3. Three UF resin loadings, namely, 8%, 10% and 12% were sprayed on the kenaf core particle boards. The boards produced were evaluated for their mechanical properties comprising of modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE) and internal bond (IB), and physical properties including water absorption (WA) and thickness swelling (TS). It was found that kenaf core particle boards manufactured with 550 kg/m3 density and 12% UF loading had superior properties in terms of MOR, MOE, IB, water absorption and thickness swelling. Statistical analysis indicated that IB, WA and TS were influenced by kenaf core content and resin loading but MOR and MOE were influenced by kenaf core content only