Characterization of Particleboard from Waste Tea Leaves (Camellia

Sinensis L) and Meranti Wood (Shorea Sp) using Urea-Formaldehyde

Adhesive and It’s Formaldehyde Emission

Iwan Risnasari, Arif Nuryawan

and Novita Frianty Siallagan

Department of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Jl. Tri Dharma Ujung No. 1 Medan, North

Sumatera 20155, Indonesia

Keywords: Waste Tea Leaves, Particleboard, Formaldehyde Emission.

Abstract: The production of particleboard still uses formaldehyde-based adhesives, such as urea formaldehyde (UF)

adhesives, although it has been known that the adhesive is harmful to human health in the long term.

Therefore, an effort is needed to get adhesive that is relatively safe to use. One of them is by utilizing tea plant

waste which can reduce formaldehyde emissions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical and

mechanical properties of particleboard, to evaluate the ratio of waste tea leaves (Camellia sinensis L)and

meranti wood (Shorea sp) particles, and to evaluate the effect of adding waste tea leaves for formaldehyde

emissions produced by particleboard. The results showed that the addition of tea leaf particles can improve

the physical and mechanical properties of the particleboard.

1 INTRODUCTION

Wood composite products such as particleboard are

widely circulating in the community in a variety of

uses, such as household furniture, room dividers and

others. Particle boards are usually produced using

formaldehyde-based adhesives (such as urea

formaldehyde/UF resin) which produce

formaldehyde emissions. Although formaldehyde-

based adhesives are a major source of emissions that

are harmful to human health, they are still used

because of low prices and good performance (Shi et

al., 2006).

Furthermore, many studies were conducted to

modify particleboard or UF adhesives in reducing

their emissions. One approach taken is to use natural

raw materials that can reduce these emissions. Tea

leaves fulfill this function because they have phenolic

compounds that can react with formaldehyde (Shi et

al., 2006; Batiancela et al., 2014).

2 MATERIAL AND METHODS

Waste Tea Leaves (Camellia Sinensis L) collected

from PTP Nusantara IV Bah Butong, Sumatera Utara.

Tea leaf waste (Cammellia sinensis) and meranti

wood waste are filtered using a 10 mesh filter and

then dried and oven until it reaches a moisture content

of ± 5%. The composition of tea leaf waste and wood

particles used is 0/100, 30/70, 50/50, 70/30 and 100/0

while the adhesive used is Urea Formaldehyde (UF)

adhesive with hardener content (NH

Cl) 7% and 9 %.

The particle board is made measuring 25cm x 25cm x

1cm with a target density of 0.8 g/cm

. Material

testing conducted include physical and mechanical

properties and formaldehyde emissions, which refer

to the JIS A 5908 (2003) standard.

3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Physical and Mechanical Properties

of Particleboard

The density of particleboards ranges from 0.71-0.87

g/cm

so that it can be classified into medium and

high density boards. The density of particleboard

produced in this study has met the JIS A 5908-2003

standard which requires particleboard density which

is 0.4-0.9 g/cm

Risnasari, I., Nuryawan, A. and Siallagan, N.

Characterization of Particleboard from Waste Tea Leaves (Camellia Sinensis L) and Meranti Wood (Shorea Sp) using Urea-Formaldehyde Adhesive and It’s Formaldehyde Emission.

DOI: 10.5220/0008552702610264

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Natural Resources and Technology (ICONART 2019), pages 261-264

ISBN: 978-989-758-404-6

261

Figure 1: The density of particleboards.

Figure 1 shows that the highest density value is

produced by particleboards made from 100% tea leaf

waste. This is because tea leaf waste is rich in

polyphenols, also called tannins. Some tannins can

actively react with formaldehyde. Besides protein and

amino acids contained in tea leaf waste can also react

with formaldehyde (Shi et al., 2006) so that the urea-

formaldehyde adhesive mixed with tea leaf waste at

the time of making the board will blend with other

particles so that the board the result is high density

due to the strong bond between the tea leaf waste and

the adhesive provided.

Figure 2: The moisture content of particleboards.

Figure 2 shows that the average value of

moisture content produced on particleboards from tea

leaf waste and meranti wood ranged from 8.71% -

9.67% on particleboards using 7% hardener and

9.97% -31.3% on particleboards made using 9%

hardener.

Figure 3: Thickness swelling of particleboards.

Figure 3 shows that the thickness swelling of

particle board from tea leaf and meranti wood waste

during 2-hour immersion is 16.24% -26.24% and

19.56% -37.21% for 24-hour immersion on boards

that use hardener 7 %. The particleboard that uses

adhesives with a hardener content of 9% has

thickness additions ranging from 8.60% -10.74% at

2-hour immersion and 12.47% -23.19% at 24-hour

immersion. Thickness swelling increases with the

addition of wood particles.

Figure 4: Modulus elasticity of particleboards.

Figure 4 shows that the particleboard made using

adhesive with a hardener content of 9% has a modulus

of elasticity higher than the particle board produced

using an adhesive content of 7% hardener. The

highest modulus of elasticity values were found on

particleboard from tea leaf waste and meranti wood

with a composition of 25:75 on adhesives using 9%

hardener which was 36101.48 kgf/cm

while the

lowest modulus of elasticity value was found on

particle board from tea leaf waste and meranti wood

with a composition 50:50 on the adhesive using 7%

hardener which is 20012.36 kgf / cm

. According to

Firmansyah and Astuti (2013) that tensile strength

value will reach the maximum at the addition of

hardener volume at a certain content, but further

ICONART 2019 - International Conference on Natural Resources and Technology

262

addition of the hardener decreases the tensile

strength. This is because there are many small cavities

in the material which reduce the mechanical strength

of the material. The modulus of elasticity also

increases when the tensile strength increases.

Figure 5: Modulus of rupture of particleboards.

Modulus of rupture values of particleboards

ranged from 7.28-41.03 kg/cm2. Figure 5 shows that

the highest modulus of rupture is found on

particleboards made of 100% meranti wood using an

adhesive hardener content of 9%. While the lowest

modulus of rupture value is found on the

particleboard using adhesive with hardener content of

7%.

The modulus of rupture on the particleboard

affected by the particleboard density. The lower the

density of the particleboard, the lower the modulus of

rupture produced. According to Haygreen and

Bowyer (1996) that the factors that affect the low or

high of modulus of rupture are influenced by the

density of the board, so that the bond between the

boards becomes less tight so due to reduce on the

modulus of rupture value. Addition of tea leaf waste

to the particleboard causes a decrease in the value of

modulus of rupture of particleboard (Batiancela et al.,

2014). This is due to the low content of chemical

compounds in tea leaves in the form of cellulose and

hemicellulose so that the mechanical strength

produced by particleboards from tea leaf waste

powder is also very low (Shi et al., 2006).

Figure 6: Internal bonding of rupture of particleboards.

Figure 6 shows the average value internal bonding

of particleboard ranged from 0.33-1.12 kg/cm

. The

highest value of internal bonding on particleboard

from 100% tea leaf waste with hardener content 9%

which is 1.12 kg/cm

while the lowest on meranti

wood particle board 100% at hardener content 7%

which is 0.33 kg/cm

. High content of adhesive with

high hardener content can increase the internal

bonding value of particleboard. The hardener used in

making this particleboard is NH

CL which can make

the acidic condition so that UF adhesives become

curing or mature (Nuryawan, 2016).

Internal bonding value of the particleboard from

tea leaf waste is higher than the meranti wood

particleboard. In accordance with the research of

Batiancela et al., (2014) which states that adhesive

firmness increased from 148 to 346 kPa with an

increase in the proportion of tea leaf waste. Increasing

the adherence of adhesion can be attributed to good

pressure on the particle board pressing process and

the bonding between particles that occurs due to the

content of chemical compounds in tea leaf waste. Tea

leaf waste contains 4-7% cellulose, 5-6%

hemicellulose, and 5-6% lignin.

Table 1 shows the value of formaldehyde

emissions on particle boards from tea leaf waste and

meranti wood waste ranging from 0.95mg / L-

6.045mg / L. The particle board formaldehyde

emission using adhesive with a hardener content of

7% higher than the particle board with 9% hardener

content. This is because of the variation in density on

each board. The average particle board density used

for formaldehyde emission testing is in the range of

0.73-0.84g / cm3. The higher the density of the

particle board, the lower the formaldehyde emissions

released. This is due to the lack of cavities or pores

on the particle board so that the emissions released

will be smaller (Sutigno and Santoso, 1995). Based

on the emission value, it can be seen that the addition

Characterization of Particleboard from Waste Tea Leaves (Camellia Sinensis L) and Meranti Wood (Shorea Sp) using Urea-Formaldehyde

Adhesive and It’s Formaldehyde Emission

263

of tea leaf waste on the particle board can reduce

formaldehyde emissions. In accordance with the

statement of Shi et al. (2006) that tea leaf waste can

reduce formaldehyde emissions on particleboards.

Table 1: Formaldehyde emissions of particleboard.

Treatment

Emission

Average

JIS A 5908

(2003)

Camellia sinensis : Shorea Sp 100 : 0

NH4Cl 7%

1.11

F**

Camellia sinensis : Shorea Sp 5 : 27

NH4Cl 7%

1.28

1.09

1.185

F**

Camellia sinensis : Shorea Sp 0 : 50

NH4Cl 7%

4.46

4.26

4.36

Camellia sinensis : Shorea Sp 25 : 75

NH4Cl 7%

5.48

Camellia sinensis : Shorea Sp 0 : 100

NH4Cl 7%

6.17

5.92

6.045

Camellia sinensis : Shorea Sp 100 : 0

NH4Cl 9%

0.75

1.15

0.95

F**

Camellia sinensis : Shorea Sp 75 : 25

NH4Cl 9%

1.52

F**

Camellia sinensis : Shorea Sp 50 : 50

NH4Cl 9%

1.59

F**

Camellia sinensis : Shorea Sp 25 : 75

NH4Cl 9%

4.94

Camellia sinensis : Shorea Sp 0 : 100

NH4Cl 9%

5.29

4 CONCLUSIONS

The physical properties of particleboards are density

and moisture content that have met the JIS A 5908

(2003) standard, while for the thickness swelling and

water absorption it has not met the standard. In the

mechanical properties only the modulus of elasticity

meets the standard while the modulus of rupture and

internal bonding of particleboards do not meet the

standard. Addition of tea leaf waste can improve the

physical and mechanical properties of the

particleboard. Addition of tea leaf waste can also

reduce formaldehyde emissions. The lowest

emissions are produced on particle boards made

entirely from tea leaf waste which is 0.95 mg/L.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Research

Institutions, University of Sumatera Utara for its

financial support by the TALENTA Research

Implementation Contract of the University of

Sumatera Utara, 2017 (Grant No: 5338/ UN5.1.R /

PPM / 2017, May 22, 2017).

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