Effect of Composition on Physical, Mechanical, and Thermal Properties of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Epoxy Resin Biocomposite

Oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) are wastes from oil palm processing. The objective of this work is to study the effect of composition on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of OPEFB epoxy resin biocomposite. Particles of OPEFB (100 mesh) were mixed with epoxy resin with the ratio of OPEFB to epoxy resin 60/40, 70/30, 80/20, and 90/10 (vol.%/vol.%). Biocomposites were produced by a press method at room temperature with 9 tons-load. The physical properties (density, porosity, water absorption, thickness swelling) of the biocomposite were evaluated. The mechanical properties (modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity) of biocomposite were determined by using a universal testing machine. The thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA) was used to examine the thermal properties of the biocomposite. The results show that the density of biocomposite is 1.18 g/cm 3 for 60 vol.% of OPEFB composition. It decreases significantly as the OPEFB composition increases. For 60 vol.% of OPEFB, the porosity, water absorption, and thickness swelling of biocomposite (after soaking in water for 24 hours) are 11.9%, 10.1%, and 6.5%, respectively. All these values increase significantly with the increase of OPEFB composition. For 60 vol.% of OPEFB, the modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) of biocomposite are 2.31 kgf/mm 2 and 267 kgf/mm 2 , respectively. The values of MOR and MOE decrease significantly with the increase in OPEFB composition. TGA results show that degradation of biocomposites occurs significantly at 350°C for 60 vol.% OPEFB. The degradation temperature reduces as the composition of OPEFB increases. In general, the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of biocomposites decrease with increasing OPEFB composition. This happens because the bond between the matrix and the particles decreases as the OPEFB composition increases. The maximum OPEFB composition that can be used for particleboard applications is 80 vol.%, which meet the ANSI 208.1-2009 requirements for application as grade M-2 particleboard.