Evaluation of using some available lignocellulosic agricultural residues in manufacturing wood-cement boards in Saudi Arabia

Loutfy I. El-Juhany, I. M. Aref and A. O. El-Wakeel Plant Production Department, College of Agriculture, King Saud University, P. O. Box 2460 Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia E-mail: Ljuhany@ksu.edu.sa Abstract: A survey of lignocellulosic agricultural residues was done in three major cities of Saudi Arabia that were Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah as a part of a research project conducted during 1999. Four of those materials namely pruning residues of street trees, planner sawdust of oak wood, mid rips date palm fronds and straw of wheat and barley were collected, prepared and mixed with cement to produce wood-cement boards. Both physical and mechanical properties of the manufactured boards were evaluated according to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The results showed that the least significant increase in the weight of cement board after soaking in water for two hours was in those manufactured with date palm material compared with those contained either oak sawdust or pruning products. Similar trend was obtained longitudinal expansion after soaking in water for two or 24 hours where the least values were recorded for the boards manufactured with date palm material. The wood-cement boards contained oak sawdust surpassed all other boards in most of the mechanical properties measured. The woodcement boards manufactured with date palm material had significantly lower screw withdrawal power compared with those contained oak sawdust but did not vary from those contained pruning products. Manufacture wood-cement boards with straw particles of both wheat and barley had not succeeded that may indicate a presence of materials could not be removed through the method adopted in the present study and made the cement boards breakable. Introduction Cement-bonded wood composites are strands, particles or fibres of wood mixed together with Portland cement and manufactured into panels, bricks, tiles and other products used in the construction industry (Beutel, 1996). In other words, this wood-cement product is a form of inorganic-bonded wood composites that contain a mineral or mineral mix as a binder system (English, 1994). The incorporation of wood elements in these boards greatly improves the mechanical properties (especially the brittle fracture strength) of the matrix material (cement) while retaining the excellent fire resistance associated with the matrix (Moslemi, 1989). However, Cement-bonded wood composite panels are not a novel concept, having been on the market for over 70 years (Moslemi and Pfister, 1987). Woodcement composites are generally placed into two categories: wood particle-cement composites and wood fiber-reinforced cement products (Wolfe and Gjinolli, 1996). The source of wood particles or fibers that incorporated with cement to form wood-cement products is not necessary to be solid wood but other large source of fiber can come from recycling agro-fiber based products, such as paper, waste wood, and point source agricultural residues (Rowell et al., 1993). Agricultural lignocellulosic residues have been steadily gaining popularity as alternative sources of raw materials for the manufacture of cement-bonded boards (Ma et al. 2000).
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Waste wood and other lignocellulosic materials are abundant. Today the annual global production of lignocellulosic fibres from man-made crops is about 4 billion tons, of which roughly 60% comes from agricultural crops and 40% from forests (Olesen and Plackett, 1999). In only three Cities in Saudi Arabia, El-Juhany (2001) reported large amounts of lignocellulosic residues accounted for 62.000 tones annually from about 4.5 million trees, shrub and palm tree in addition to 139.000 tones annually from 96 woody products mills. Most of these residues as well as field crop residues are eliminated by incineration or thrown away as refuse. Saudi Arabia has about 20 million date palm trees (Ministry of Agriculture, 2001). Therefore, manufacturing wood-cement boards considers as a promising sort of incorporating waste wood and other lignocellulosic materials into recycled products as one of the main efforts toward protect the environment. Recycling wastes and using recycled products reduces the demand on virgin materials, save energy and reduces environmental damage. Cement-bonded particleboard has excellent resistance to deterioration from decay, insects, and fire. Thus it is well suited for both interior and exterior applications such as wall surfaces and decking for public and commercial buildings (Haygreen and Bowyer, 1989) and acoustic panels (Wolfe and Gjinolli, 1996). They are highly resistant to moisture, rot, and vermin attack (English, 1994). Moreover, woodcement bonded boards have proved to be durable and to have low production coast (Fernandez and Taja-on, 2000). The present study aims at evaluating the suitability of some agricultural lignocellulosic materials for manufacturing lab type wood-cement boards. Material and methods Lignocellulosic material used Four agricultural lignocellulosic materials were used in this investigation as raw materials. They were as the following: (1) Pruning residues of street trees in Riyadh City; mainly branches of some broadleaf trees, (2) Planner sawdust of oak wood (Quercus spp.) collected from woody product mills in Riyadh City, (3) Mid rips of fronds of different date palm (Phoenix dactelifera L.) varieties, and (4) Whole straw of wheat (Triticum spp.) and barley (Hordeum valgare L. Em. Lam.) were taken from the present crop after removing spikes. Material preparation The pruning products were cut into disks of approximately 2.5-cm thick using belt saw. They left to dry in the open air for several days until equilibrium moisture content was achieved. Disks then were split into pie shaped pieces, which were then reduced to small splinters using hand tools. The produced material was subsequently fed through a prototype hammer mill to produce chips. The same procedure was applied to mid rips of date palm fronds. Mean while the air-dried straw was broken manually into small pieces and hammer milled directly. Screening Particles that were produced from the hammer mill as well as air-dried sawdust of oak wood were screened separately using laboratory type hand screeners. The Particles used for manufacturing wood-cement boards were those passed through a 20-mesh and retained over a 40- mesh screen. The particles were then dried in a normal laboratory oven at

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1023C for 48 hours to approximate moisture content of 3%. Particles of both wheat and barley straw were mixed at equal proportions before involving in board manufacturing. Manufacturing of wood-cement boards Manufacturing of wood-cement boards was carried out according to Ahn et al. (1985) with some modifications. The manufactured boards were homogenous with 30 30 1 cm dimensions and had one g cm-3 density. Washing and drying In order to eliminate any substances may lead to incompatibility between cement and the other particles used, the later were subjected to washing through boiling in water for eight hours with changing water every two hours and washing with more hot water until clear colour was observed. The washed particles were dried on the oven at 103 2 C for 48 hours before using them in cement mixture. Mixing of board components 331.7 g of lignocellulosic particles were mixed with 663.4 g of dry cement (Portland cement type 1 meeting ASTM specification C-150 and produced by Saudi Cement Company) on oven dry weight basis. 19.9 g of calcium chloride were dissolved in 497.6 ml of distilled water at rate of 1.5 ml for each gramme of dried lignocellulosic particles giving 4% solution (w/v). This solution was added to the mixture of cement and particles with continuous stirring for five minutes. Board formation Open top boxes of composite wood coated with phenolic layer with 30 30 cm for the base from inside and 3.1 cm height were designated to form the boards. The mixture of cement and particles was molded in each box through a wire net with 2-mm holes for regulating particle distribution. The mixture was then leveled using a spirit level. A square woody piece of the same material of the box with 2.95 cm side and 1.8 cm thickness was placed upon the top of the mixture to press its surface and ensure the desired thickness of the manufactured board. Pressing the boards The manufactured boards were pressed in a cool hydraulic press for 24 hours under a constant pressure of 200 pound per square inch. At the end of pressing time the press was opened gradually then the boards were extracted carefully from the wooden boxes. The boards were placed in an open area where they aligned vertically at the room temperature and consistent relative humidity for a month. Determination of properties of the manufactured boards Experimental design A representative sample of three boards was randomly chosen from the manufactured boards of every lignocellulosic material for testing their physical and mechanical properties using a completely randomizing design.

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Physical properties Density Square pieces 5 5 cm were taken from each selected board as a representative sample according to ASTMD 1037. The volumes of those samples were measured to the nearest 0.1 cm3 and weighed to the nearest 0.1 gramme then dried in the oven at 103 2C until weight consistency and their dry weights were measured. The density of the samples was calculated as the following: Density (g cm-1 ) = sample dry weight/ sample volume. Moisture content Square pieces 5 5 cm were sectioned from each selected board as a representative sample according to ASTMD 1037. The samples were weighed to the nearest 0.1 gramme then dried in the oven at 1032C until weight consistency and their dry weights were measured. Moisture content of the samples as a percentage of their weight was determined as the following: Moisture content (%) = Sample weight before drying sample weight after drying 100 Sample weight after drying Table (1) shows the main specific gravity and moisture content (per cent) of wood-cement boards manufactured with different lignocellulosic materials. Table (1): Mean specific gravity and moisture content (%) of wood-cement boards manufactured with different lignocellulosic material. Lignocellulosic material mixed with cement Oak wood sawdust Date palm material Pruning products Specific gravity 1.14 0.02 1.12 0.02 1.11 0.05 Moisture content (%) 7.72 0.13 8.29 8.29 8.07 0.28

Dimension stability A sample with surface dimensions of 10 10 cm were cut from the same boards that the previous samples were taken from for the evaluation of thickness swelling and water absorption according to ASTM D 1037. The dimension stability test was done as the following: a) The primary weights of the samples were determined to the nearest 0.1 gramme. b) The virtual dimensions of the samples were measured to the nearest 0.05 mm using a caliper at several points that were chosen randomly along the sides of the sample. c) The samples were soaked in the water at room temperature for two hours then were taken out, dried with cotton cloth, weighed and their dimensions were measured again at the same previously determined points. d) The samples were soaked again in the water and at the same temperature but for 24 hours then were taken out, dried, weighed and their dimensions were measured as the above mentioned.

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e) The sample capacity of absorbing water was calculated as the following: Water absorption percent after two hours = The difference between sample weight before and after soaking for two hours 100 Sample weight before soaking in water Water absorption percent after 24 hours = The difference between sample weight before and after soaking for 24 hours 100 Sample weight before soaking in water f) The increase in sample dimensions after soaking in water for two and 24 hours was calculated as a percentage of its dimension before soaking. Mechanical properties Modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity Samples with 25 cm long, 5 cm width and had the same board thickness were cut from each board under testing. This was carried out according to the German standard specification (DIN 52362). The steps of the test were as the following: a) Static bending test was done for the samples using INSTRON-1195 testing machine. b) Modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity were calculated from the curves produced from static bending test as the following: Modulus of elasticity (MOE) = Pl L3 / 4bd 3 y Modulus of rupture (MOR) = (Pmax) L / 2bd2 Where: b = width of specimen, d = thickness of specimen L = length of span, Pmax = maximum load, Pl = load at proportional limit and y = amount of deflection at proportional limit. Internal bond (IB) Samples of 5 5 cm and had the thickness of the board were sectioned from each board under testing according to ASTMD 1037. The samples were adhered from both their upper and lower faces with a couple aluminum jaws were manufactured to fit the part of the INSTRON-1195 testing machine assigned for internal bond strength test. Screw withdrawal test (SW) Samples with 7.5 7.5-cm dimensions were cut from each board for the screw withdrawal test (SW) according to ASTMD 1037. An 8-cm screw was fixed in the centre of each sample on one of its faces. The test was done using INSTRON-1195. Statistical analysis SAS computer package (version 6.02) was used to carry out analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the data. Differences between the various material types used were compared through multiple comparisons using LSD.

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Results Physical properties Analysis of variance of the data obtained for dimension stability showed that the boards contained date palm material had significantly the least values in longitudinal expansion after soaking in water either for two or 24 hours comparing with those of the boards containing oak wood sawdust or pruning products. The lignocellulosic materials had no significant effects on thickness swelling after soaking in water for either two or 24 hours. The percentage of water absorption after soaking in water for two hours was significantly the least in the boards contained date palm material. However, after soaking in water for 24 hours this percentage did not change significantly (Table 2). Mechanical properties The wood-cement boards contained oak sawdust surpassed all other boards in most the mechanical properties measured following by those contained pruning products then those manufactured with date palm material. Modulus of elasticity (MOE) of the wood-cement boards contained oak sawdust was significantly greater than those of the boards contained either date palm material or pruning products (Fig. 1). Similar trend was attained for modulus of rupture (MOR) and internal bond (IB) but the differences were not statistically significant. The wood-cement boards manufactured with date palm material had significantly the least value for screw holding power comparing with those of the boards contained either oak wood sawdust or pruning products (Table 3). All attempts to manufacture cement boards with straw particles of both wheat and barley in the present study failed that may indicate presence of materials could not be removed with the method adopted and made the cement not to solidification. Table (2): Effects of lignocellulosic material on thickness swelling (THS%), longitudinal expansion (LE%) and water absorption (WA%) of wood-cement boards after soaking in water for two and 24 hours. Values are means of three samples represented three manufactured boards Change as a result of soaking in water Lignocellulosic material mixed with cement THS (%) Oak wood sawdust Date Palm material Pruning products 3.69a 3.58a 4.11a For two hours LE %) 0.68a 0.44b 0.66a WA (%) 22.45a 14.46b 24.69a THS (%) 5.17a 6.47a 4.36a For 24 hours LE (%) 1.03a 0.82b 0.86 ab WA (%) 27.62a 25.61a 28.43a

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MOE (Kg cm )

80000 60000 40000 20000 0 Oak sawdust Date palm material Pruning products

Figure 1. Modulus of elasticity (MOE) of wood-cement boards manufactured with oak wood sawdust, midrib of date palm trees and pruning products of some broad- leaves trees

Table (3): Effects of Lignocellulosic material mixed with cement on means modulus of rupture (MOR, Kg cm-2), internal bond (IB, Kg cm-2 ) and screw holding power (SHP, kg) of the manufactured boards Lignocellulosic material mixed with cement Oak wood sawdust date palm material Pruning products MOR (Kg cm-2) 236.28a 195.35a 189.01a IB (Kg cm-2 ) 12.71 a 11.74 a 17.83 a SHP (Kg) 83.00a 54.67b 64.67b

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Discussion There are many factors affecting the properties of wood-cement boards. These including ratio of cement to wood particles, ratio of water to cement and wood particles, type of cement, type and dimensions of wood particles, accelerator substance, curing time and others. Comparing the results of different researches therefore should be made carefully. Physical properties of the wood-cement boards manufactured in the present study differed due to the raw material mixed with cement. Longitudinal expansion of the boards containing date palm material was significantly lower than that of the boards containing oak wood sawdust or pruning products after soaking in water either for two or 24 hours. The longitudinal expansions was 0.68, 1.03; 0.44, 0.82; 0.66 and 0.86% after soaking in water for two and 24 hours for the boards containing oak wood sawdust, date palm material and pruning products, respectively. Lee (1984) reported change in the length of southern pine cement composite boards ranged from 0.67 to 1.17%. Length swelling of woodcement particleboards manufactured with wood from young eucalyptus trees was 0.68% (Beraldo and Carvalho, 2001).
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Water absorption had a trend similar to that of longitudinal expansion. It ranged from 14.46% of the specimen weight for the boards containing date palm material to 22.45% and 24.69% for the boards containing oak sawdust and pruning products, respectively after soaking in water for two hours. However, after 24 hours the values of water absorption for the boards manufactured with different materials became close to each other, with greater increase in the value of the boards containing date palm material compared with its value after two hours. After two hours wood-cement particleboards manufactured with wood from young eucalyptus trees absorbed 30% water of its weight and after 24 hours this value seemed to be constant (Beraldo and Carvalho, 2001). Similarly, Rahim and Wan (1990) obtained water absorption of about 33.5% for cement bonded particleboard from Acacia mangium with 1:2 wood to cement ratio. Thickness swelling of the boards manufactured with different raw materials ranged from 3.58% to 4.11% and from 4.36% to 6.47% after two and 24 hours soaking in water, respectively. However, the differences between the boards were not statistically significant. Mechanical properties The results of bending strength showed that modulus of elasticity (MOE) of the woodcement boards differed significantly due to the raw material mixed with cement. The strength of cement boards depends on the raw materials, treatments and additives being combined in the mixture (Fernandez and Taja-on). The MOE value obtained for the boards containing oak sawdust (6,090 MPa) was significantly greater than those of the boards containing date palm material (4,470 MPa) or pruning product (4,570 MPa) (1 MPa = 10.2 kg cm-2). Modulus of rupture (MOR) obtained for the wood-cement boards in the present study had a trend was almost similar to MOE but did not significantly affected by the lignocellulosic material mixed with cement. This result accords with others which used different raw materials and wood to cement ratios. Under similar condition Moslemi and Pfister (1987) found MOE of 4,516 MPa and MOR did not significantly influenced for wood-cement composite panels containing wood of lodgepole pine trees of 66 years old. Internal bond of the wood-cement boards was not significantly affected by lignocellulosic material used. The wood-cement boards manufactured with date palm material had screw withdrawal power was significantly lower than that of the boards contained either oak sawdust or pruning products. All the properties of the manufactured boards in the present study met the standard requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) as reported by (Youngquist et al. 1996). The variation in physical and mechanical properties of the manufactured wood-cement boards in the present study may be due to the inherent variation in the properties of the raw materials used and to the variation in their particle dimensions. Although those materials are lignocellulosic in origin however, they are different in their anatomical structure and chemical constituents due to the differences in their botanical origin. The palm material consists of midribs of a monocotyledonous plant, which defers anatomically from either oak wood sawdust or pruning products, which are dicotyledonous. Oak wood sawdust on the other hand has high specific gravity as it is produced from ring porous trees and consists mainly of mature wood with high proportion of wide vessels, fibers and some other cell structures. While pruning products are from diffuse porous fast growing trees. The wood of those trees has more or less the same sort of cells as oak but they differ in dimensions, distribution and proportions. Moreover, the pruning products consist of woody stems and branches that have a large proportion of juvenile wood knots,
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tension wood. Straw material is made mainly of stems of monocotyledonous plants that have a thick cuticle with a high percent of non-cellulosic carbohydrates and a lesser, but considerable, percent of silica. So its fiber content is much less than the above mentioned materials. Therefore, the attempts to manufacture cement boards with straw particles of both wheat and barley in the present study failed which may lead to the necessity of applying pre-treatments to enhance the suitability of such material for cement boards. It is vital to develop appropriate pre-treatments that will increase the compatibility between the residues and cement (Lee et al., 1987). Conclusion The present study revealed the suitability of lignocellulosic material from different sources for use in wood-cement boards manufacturing in Saudi Arabia apart from straw particles of both wheat and barley which may need pre-treatments to remove the materials that inhibit the compatibility between them and cement. Acknowledgement The authors express their gratitude to General Directorate of Research Grants Programmes in King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology for funding this project. References Ahn W. Y., Shin D. S. and Choi D. H. (1985). The effect of hot water extraction of wood meal and the addition of CaCl2 on bending strength and swelling ratio of wood-cement board. Wood Science and Technology.13 (3): 49-53. American Society for Testing and Materials (1989). Standard methods of evaluating the properties of wood-base fiber and panel material. ASTM D 1037-78, Philadelphia, Pa, USA. Beraldo A. L. and de Carvalho J. V. (2001). Eucalyptus grandis wood-portland cement particleboard. In: Proceedings of "Agribuilding", a Symposium held at Campinas, So Paulo, Brazil, 3-6 September 2001, pp 78-82. Beutel, P. (1996). Cement bonded wood composites. Australian National University, electronic publications. http://online.anu.edu.au/forestry/wood/cfb/contents.html. El-Juhany, L. I. (2001). Surveying of lignocellulosic agricultural residues in some major cities of Saudi Arabia. Research Bulletin No. 100, Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. English, B. (1994). Wastes into Wood: Composites Are a Promising. Environmental Health Perspectives 102(2): 1-6. Fernandez E C. and Taja-on V. P. (2000). The use and processing of rice straw in the manufacture of cement-bonded fibreboard. In: Proceedings of "Wood-Cement Composites in the Asia-Pacific Region" a workshop held at Canberra, Australia on 10 December 2000, pp 49-54.

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Haygreen, J. G. and Bowyer J. L. (1989). Forest Products and Wood Science- An Introduction, second edition. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, USA. Lee A. W. C. (1984). Physical and mechanical properties of cement bonded southern pine excelsior board. Forest Products Journal 34(4): 30-34. Lee A. W. C., Hong Z., Philips D. R. and Hse, C. Y. (1987). Effects of cement/water ratios and woodstorage conditions on hydration temperature, hydration time, and compressive strength of wood-cement mixtures. Wood and Fiber Science 19(3): 262-268. Ma, L. F.; Yamauchi, H.; Pulido, O. R.; Tamura Y.; Sasaki, H and Kawai S. (2000). Manufacture of cement-bonded boards from wood and other lignocellulosic materials: Relationships between cement hydration and mechanical properties of cement-bonded boards. In: Proceedings of "Wood-Cement Composites in the Asia-Pacific Region" a workshop held at Canberra, Australia on 10 December 2000, pp 13-23. Ministry of Agriculture (2001). "Agricultural Statistical Year Book", thirteenth Issue, pp 295. Department of Economic Studies and Statistics, Saudi Arabia. Moslemi, A. A. (ed.) (1989). Wood-cement panel products: Coming of age. In: Inorganic Bonded Wood and Fiber Composite Materials, Forest Products Research Society, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, Vol. I, p. 12-18. Moslemi, A. A. and Pfister S. C. (1987). The influence of cement/wood ratio and cement type on bending strength and dimensional stability of wood-cement composite panels. Wood and Science 19(2): 165-175. Olesen P.O. and Plackett, D.V. (1999). Perspectives on the Performance of Natural Plant Fibres. In: Natural Fibres Performance Forum Plant Fibre Products - Essentials for the Future, 27-28 May 1999, Copenhagen Denmark. Rowell, Roger M.; Spelter, Henry; Arola, Rodger A.; Davis, Phil; Friberg, Tom; Hemingway, Richard W.; Rials, Tim; Luneke, David; Narayan, Ramani; Simonsen, John; White, Don (1993). Opportunities for composites from recycled wastewood-based resources: A problem analysis and research plan. Forest Products Journal, Vol. 43(1): 5563. Rahim, S. and Wan Asma I.(1990). Cement bonded particleboard from Acacia manigum A preliminary study. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 2: 267-273. Youngquist, J. A.; Krzysik, A. M. Chow, P. and Meimban, R. (1996). Properties of Composite Panels. In: R. M. Rowell; R. A. Young and J. K. Rowell (eds.) Paper and Composites from Agro-Based Resources (Chapter 9, pp 303- 336). Lewis Publishers (CRC), Boca Raton, New York, London, Tokyo.

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Arabic abstract / / . . 0642 15411 : 004068805669 +

E-mail: Ljuhany@ksu.edu.sa
9991- 0002. . . 42 . . . . . . . El-Juhany, L. I., I. M. Aref and A. O. Wakeel (2003). Evaluation of using some available .lignocellulosic agricultural residues in manufacturing wood-cement boards in Saudi Arabia In: the Proceedings of the International Conference on Date Palm, pp 281-291, held at ,)College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, King Saud University (Qaseem Branch .3002 Buraidah, Saudi Arabia, 16-19 September

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