This document outlines a proposed study to evaluate the properties of particleboard made from Acacia species using different resin contents and board densities. The study aims to determine the mechanical and physical properties of particleboard using acacia species and to evaluate the effects of different board density and resin content on particleboard properties. The methodology describes the process for manufacturing particleboard including raw material preparation, mat forming, hot pressing, and testing to analyze properties such as bending strength, internal bonding, water absorption, and thickness swelling. Particleboards will be manufactured at three densities (500, 600, 800 kg/m3) and three resin contents (5%, 7%, 9%).

1. BY : NUR AMALINA BINTI RAZALI
2010842508
ADVISOR : PROF. DR. JAMALUDDIN KASSIM
THESIS PROPOSAL
EVALUATING THE PROPERTIES OF
PARTICLEBOARD FROM ACACIA
SPECIES USING DIFFERENT RESIN
CONTENT AND BOARD DENSITY

2. INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
• The Solid Wood Not Anymore Enough To Making Product Such As
Furniture.
• The Research About To Recycle Wood Waste Into Wood Panel Products
Had Been Done.
• Particleboard Is One Of The Wood Panel Product
• Particleboards Are Manufactured To Easily Painting And Easier To Handle
(Hoadley., 2000).
• Particleboards Are Classified By Particle Size, Resin Content, Density And
Strength Size.
• Particleboards Usually Use Synthetic Resins Such As Urea Formaldehyde
(UF), Phenol Formaldehyde (PF) And Melamine

3. RESEARCH PROBLEM
• Solid Wood Is Usually Good Material For Making Furniture, But, Solid
Wood Is Decreased And Higher In Cost
• So, Wood Based Panel Has Been Used To Replace The Solid Wood. Then,
The Demands For Wood Based Product Have Increased.
• Usually Rubberwoods Are Used To Making Particle Board, But, Rubber
Wood Is Limited In Resource.
• To Decreases The Use Of Rubberwood, In This Study, Acacia Species Are
Chosen To Replace The Rubberwood.

4. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
• The Study Of Difference Of Density And Resin Content To The
Particle Board Using Acacia Species Is To Give Alternative Way To
Making Particle Board
• Acacia Species Can Accommodate The Production Of Particle Board
Which Is Usually Uses Rubberwood
• Employment Opportunities To The People Of Malaysia Will Also
Increase Because More Labor Is Needed Because There Is An
Alternative Material To Produce Particle Board In Addition To
Rubberwood
• Malaysia's Economy Will Also Increase As Malaysia Will Become A
Major Producer Of Particle Board In The World, Because Particle
Board Manufacturing Industry In Malaysia Has Many Plantation
Species To Be Particle Board.

5. Limitations of the study
• Only Using Wood From Acacia Species To Produce Particle Board To
Prevent Problems In Obtaining A Result.
• Conduct a study to set the density particle board between
500(kg/𝑚3) , 600 (kg/𝑚3) and 800(kg/𝑚3)
• The Resin Content Must In The 5 %, 7%, And 9 %.
• Types Of Phenol Formaldehyde Resin Is Used To Produce
Particle Board,

6. Objectives
The objectives of this study are:
•To determine the mechanical and physical properties of
particleboard using acacia species.
•To evaluate the effects of different board density and resin content
on particleboard properties.

7. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Raw material for Malaysia particleboard industry
• The Raw Material For These Wood Composite Productions Are Mainly
Rubberwood, Sawmill Residue, Mixed Hardwood Species And Oil Palm
Empty Fruit Bunches (Rahim And Koh, 2007).
• Main Raw Material For Particleboard Industry Is Wood Particles Such As
Saw Dust, Wood Particles, Shavings And Resin.
• Malaysia Usually Used Hardwood As To Produce Particleboard
• Particleboard Industry In Malaysia Is Grow To Success With Many Studies
Are Being Undertaken Including The Planting Of Plantation Species
• Suitable Resin Is Used Such As Urea Formaldehyde (UF), Phenol
Formaldehyde (PF) And Melamine Urea Formaldehyde (MUF)

8. Particleboard industry
Definition of particleboard
 Particleboard is an engineered wood product manufactured from
wood particles such as saw dust, wood particles, shavings and
resin
 Particleboard made by compressing small particles of wood
while simultaneously bonding them with an adhesive or resin

9. Properties of Particleboard
Particleboard has woody color.
Very smooth particleboard is important to give easier for painting
and veneering
The strength of the board will depend on its density, its thickness,
its layered or graded structure, the adhesive used in it and others
factors.
Usually board with higher density and thickness will more strength.
Particleboards cannot resist on the outside for long time because
particleboard are made from wood that easier attacked by insects or
fungi.
Particleboards are high moisture absorption (Cai and Robert, 2012).

10. Uses Of Particleboard
Particleboards are usually used for building application such as
ceilings, walls, partitions and floors.
Particleboards are also can be used as shuttering for concrete
kitchen, bedroom and dining room furniture.
Others products from particleboards are musical instrument such as
pianos or organ, pallets, containers and packaging cases, shop
fittings and displays boards.
While, roof framed building structure, storage facilities and animal
houses also can be making using particleboard (Charles, 1987).

11. Resin
Phenol Formaldehyde (PF)
• Products using PF resins may increase their dimensional stability
because of lower moisture content.
• Phenol Formaldehyde are not suitable for decorative products
application because dark in color.
• Phenol Formaldehyde are very suitable for exterior furniture
such as garden furniture because water resistance
• Phenol Formaldehyde is having two types; they are the resoles
and the novolacs.

12. Effect Of Resin Content
Physical Properties
• Water absorption is increase with increase of resin content. The
optimum resin content level without spill off observed to be 14%
being the most economical value of resin content giving optimum
physical properties values for water absorption and thickness
swelling (Ogola, 2002).
Mechanical Properties
• The mechanical properties of particleboard are the modulus of
rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) and internal bonding
(IB). The modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE)
and internal bonding (IB) increased with increasing resin content
(Amir, 2008). The mechanical properties of particleboard increase
when bonding with resin (Taghi, 2011).

13. Effect Of Board Density
Physical Properties of particleboard
• Increase in swelling should be expected with increase in board
density. Increase in mechanical strength with increase in density can
be sufficient to offset increased swelling tendency. Water
absorption was found closely related inversely to board density in
water-soak test. An increase in board density caused decreases in
thickness swelling (Benedito, 2012).
Mechanical Properties of particleboard
• Shiuchi Kawai et.al, 1985, reported that the Modulus of rupture
(MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) increase linearly with
increasing board density. The internal bond strength also increases
with increase the density of board.

14. METHODOLOGY
FLOW CHART OF PARTICLEBOARD MANUFACTURING
Raw Material
Preparation
Chipping
and Flaking
Drying and
Screening
Resin Mixing
and Blending
Mat FormingPre-PressHot Press
Trimming
and Sizing
Testing

15. RAW MATERIAL PREPARATION
• The Acacia tress will be obtained from UiTM Jengka Forst Reserves.
• The tree will be harvested using chain saw and the logs are
debarked to remove the bark.
CHIPPING AND FLAKING
• logs which have been cut into preferred length will be sent to the
chipping machine for the chipping process.
• The planks will be into chipper to produce wood chip
• Wood chips will then pass through the knife ring flakers to
produce smaller wood particles
• The particles produce will be air dried for 1 week to reduce the
moisture content to less than 15%.

16. DRYING AND SCREENING
• After air drying the particles will be screen using the vibrating flat
screener
• screening will also remove the over size of the particles that can
affect the strength of the particleboard.
• The particles will be screened into 0.5mm, 1.0mm and 2.0mm sizes.
• The screened particle will be oven dried at a temperature of 80-
90°C for 48 hours to reduce the moisture content to below 5%.
Resin Mixing and Blending
• In this study, Phenol Formaldehyde (PF) will be used as the binder.
• The weighted dried particles will be placed in the blender and
sprayed with Phenol Formaldehyde (PF) resin.
• The amount of resin used will be 5%, 7% and 9%.

17. MAT FORMING
• The sprayed particle will be laid in mould with dimension of 350mm
x 350mm
• Before the forming, ‘mould release agent’ will used to spray the
caule plate to avoid the particles trim sticking on caul plate and
mould.
PRE-PRESS PROCESS
• the pre-press process was done to reduce the thickness
• pre-pressed for about 30 seconds before hot pressing
• The advantage of pre-pressed techniques was to enable the mat
to be handled before hot pressing procedure was done

18. HOT PRESS
• The mats will be placed in the press, one mat at each time.
• The hot press will be set at three different pressures
• first be pressed at 1800 psi for 180 second,
• followed by 120 second at a pressure of 1200 psi
• last for 60 second at 800 psi.
• In this process, the particle will be compressed at a temperature of
145°C.
• Then, the boards will be removed from the caul plate let to the
environment about 4 to 6 minutes to cool down
TRIMMING AND SIZING
• edge trimmed to desired length and width, and to square the
edges. Then, the boards will be cut to size based on testing
method

19. Panel Testing
Moisture Content and Density
• The sample was cut into the size 50mm x 50mm and then placed in
the oven with the temperature of about 105°C ± 2°C.
• the volume of determination of moisture content was calculated
using the equation below:
MC % =
weight of air dry−weight of oven dry
weight of oven dry
X 100%
• Density is defined as mass divided by volume:
P =
𝑚
𝑣

20. Bending Strength
• This testing was basically used to measure the value of Modulus of
Rupture (MOR) and Modulus of Elasticity (MOE).
• MOR was the measurement of the rate rupture particleboard
specimen.
• MOE value was to measure the resistance to bending related to
stiffness of a beam.
• This testing was most important to determine the strength of the
particleboard.
Internal Bonding
• The Instron Model machine will give a pull from upper and below
at the particleboard. Samples were tested until it crack and the
graph that show drop.

21. Water Absorption
• The samples were soaked into the water for 24 hours. For every 2
hours, the samples are weighted and recorded until the value was
constant at 24 hours.
• The formulae that is used in calculation to know the percentage of
the water absorption as below:
WA =
Weight After−Weight Before
Weight Before
X 100 %
Determination of Thickness Swelling
• Before soaked all the data must be recorded and then samples
were soaked into water for 24 hours.
• Take the thickness of the samples for every 2 hours until reach 24
hours.
TS =
Thickness After−Thickness Before
Thickness Before
X 100%

22. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
PARTICLE BOARD
RESIN (5%) RESIN (7%) RESIN (9%)
DENSITY:
500(kg/𝑚3
)
DENSITY:
600(kg/𝑚3
)
DENSITY:
800(kg/𝑚3
)
DENSITY:
500(kg/𝑚3
)
DENSITY:
600(kg/𝑚3
)
DENSITY:
800(kg/𝑚3
)
DENSITY:
500(kg/𝑚3
)
DENSITY:
800(kg/𝑚3
)
DENSITY:
600(kg/𝑚3
)