Determination of Physical, Mechanical and Fire Retardancy Properties of Innovative Particleboard Made from Corn Stalk (Zea mays L.) Particles.

The demand for particleboard is increasing along with economic and population growth. However, two major barriers to the manufacture of particleboard are a shortage of raw materials (woodchips) and the emission of formaldehyde from conventional adhesives. Agricultural by-products such as corn stalks contain an abundance of renewable lignocellulosic fiber. This study evaluates the effect of citric acid as a natural adhesive and fire retardant addition on the physical, mechanical, and fire retardancy properties of particleboards fabricated from corn stalks. A cost-effective and inorganic salt, calcium carbonate, was tested to enhance the fire retardancy. Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate was also considered as a comparative control. Particleboards with the addition of calcium carbonate was pretreated with sodium chloride. The particleboards were pressed for 10 min at 200°C. Japanese Industrial Standard JIS A 5908:2022 was used as the benchmark for the physical and mechanical tests. Fire retardancy was dynamically tested by simulating a Bushfire Attack Level of 19 kW/m². The particleboard with 25 wt% citric acid had superior mechanical properties and complied with the JIS A 5908 standard for Type 13 base particleboard. Particleboard with the addition of calcium carbonate (5% and 10%) showed significantly delayed pyrolysis time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]