Study of the drying kinetics of the stipe (pseudo-trunk) of Tenera oil palms in Cameroon

This study focuses on the drying of oil palm stipe for use as wood material in dry and humid areas and as reinforcement material for the development of composite materials. The palm stipe is divided into nine parts and a continuous drying cycle of 40°C for 72 h, 70°C for 70 h and 105°C for 24 h is used to dry and reduce the warping of the material so that it can be machined. After machining, a three-isothermal temperature drying cycle (60°C, 70°C and 80°C) is used to dry it again using a gravimetric technique with mass measurement at regular intervals to remove moisture recovery. The moisture content (9.64–15.94 %) shows the hydrophilicity of the stipe and is acceptable for use in wet areas. The Page model best fits the experimental drying points for the three temperature isotherms. The diffusion coefficient in the first phase (1.20 ×10−08 – 9.14 ×10−08) m2/s, the second phase (7.37 ×10−09 – 3.66 ×10−08) m2/s, the corrected diffusion in the first phase (7.17 ×10−09 – 4.36 ×10−08) m2/s, in the second phase (4.25 ×10−09 – 3.42 ×10−08) m2/s shows the efficiency of the palm stipe in removing heat during its dehydration process, confirming its hydrophilic nature. The activation energy (10.7 – 82.93) kJ.mol−1 gives the amount of energy required to completely dry the palm stipe. Compared to other wood, fibre and palm-based materials, Tenera palm stipe from Cameroon can be used in construction (partitions, ceilings, furniture), as a multilayer material for structural or non-structural applications in dry and humid areas, as a reinforcing material for particle composites for non-structural applications, and for the production of hybrid materials.