UTILIZATION OF BAMBOO FIBER AND COCONUT COIR IN THE PRODUCTION OF CEMENT--BONDED BOARD

Each year, the amount of agricultural wastes is growing faster than the rate of urbanization in the country. People from different parts of the country and the world are mostly unaware on how to utilize these wastes and recycle them into useful and sustainable materials. One of the approaches in reusing these agricultural wastes is to utilize them as a substitute for wood in the fabrication of panel products. Cement-- bonded boards, for instance, is one of those restoration inventions of the 20th century which can be an alternative to timber products in constructing internal and external walls, partitions, ceilings, roof sheathing, to name a few. This research aimed to contribute to these small but growing empirical literatures and studies on particleboard technology by to utilizing agricultural wastes such as bamboo and coconut coir fibers in the production of cement--bonded particleboards. Using an experimental research design, the researchers produced three experimental samples with three different fiber -- cement ratios. These samples underwent several tests that determined their physical and mechanical properties. Based on the results, it was found out that the sample boards with 3.2% fiber obtained the highest strength of 5.31 MPa, which was higher than the standard strength for particle boards. It also passed the nail head pull through test and obtained an optimum result of 223.88 kg. Furthermore, it also exhibited 1.03% thickness swelling and 8.58% water absorption which was way better compared to commercially available particle boards.