Mechanical properties improvement of wheat straw composite panels via silan treatment and using amino-resins

Natural forest concerns force wood industry to consider alternatives for raw material cut from natural forest. Plantation, recycling and using of agricultural residuals have been addressed by scientists as eco-friendly raw material resources for wood industry. Agricultural residuals as annual renewable materials are quick accessible way and some countries took this step and has established their first mills based on these materials. One of the major challenges for using agricultural waste is suitable binder to provide required product properties. In this study wheat straw particles were first treated by silan then composite panels were made using urea formaldehyde, melamine-formaldehyde and ureamelamine formaldehyde resins. Properties of composite panels were evaluated. Results showed that silan treatment improved Modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) of wheat straw-melamine formaldehyde composite panels however internal bond (IB) slightly improved. Wheat straw-melamine-urea composite panels showed acceptable properties compared with EN standard. The results of this study revealed that wheat straw is a reliable raw material for manufacturing composite panels and it can substitute raw material from natural forest.

Keywords:

Wheat straw , silan , urea formaldehyde , melamine formaldehyde