Medium density particle board from Khimp plant

Abstract

Khimp plant, <b><i>Leptadenia</i></b><b> <i>pyrotechnica</i> (Forsk.)</b><b> Decne,</b> is a shrub grown abundantly in the desert region of Rajasthan. In the present study plant stem was investigated for production of medium density particle boards with phenol-formaldehyde (PF) and urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins as binders in varying quantities. The chemical composition of khimp stem showed 64.30% holocellulose, 30.51% α-cellulose, 16.12% lignin and 7.93% ethanol-benzene extractives. The physical properties of the particle boards, viz. density, moisture content, water absorption, swelling values and mechanical properties like impact strength, tensile strength, flex modulus and modulus of rupture were measured by standard methods. The physical and mechanical properties of the prepared particle boards were compared with those of particle boards made from similar lignocellulosic agro-residues. The properties of particle boards prepared with PF and UF resin binders conformed to the BIS specifications for medium density particle boards for general purpose requirements.