ASSESSING THE POTENTIAL OF INCORPORATING EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH (EFB) INTO CEMENT BOARDS TREATED WITH HOT WATER AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES AND SOAKING TIMES

Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) was incorporated into cement boards to evaluate its effect on thickness swelling (TS), modulus of rupture (MOR) and internal bonding (IB), using two different soaking durations; two and three hours at three temperatures: 75°C, 85°C, and 95°C. The objective of this study was to explore the potential of hot water treatment as a cost-effective alternative to chemical treatment, which typically incurs additional expenses. The testing conducted accordance to British Standard (BS) and European Norms (EN). The samples were fabricated with target density of 1300 kg/m3. At the 2-hour soaking, density recorded in ranges from 1231.54 kg/m³ to 1391.31 kg/m³, while at 3 hours, it ranges from 1015 kg/m³ to 1431.29 kg/m³. TS values remain relatively low overall, falling between 0.01% and 0.1%. However, TS rate decreased as soaking time increased, indicating that shorter soaking durations led to greater swelling of the EFB board. Prolonged soaking time able to increase IB at low temperature of 75°C compared to high temperature of pre-treatment in hot water. It has been demonstrated that hot water treatment is a viable method for treating EFB, as the incorporation of EFB able to enhance both the physical and mechanical properties of the material. This suggests its strong potential as a sustainable material for use in construction applications.