PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

 

e-ISSN 2231-8526
ISSN 0128-7680

Home / Regular Issue / JST Vol. 31 (3) Apr. 2023 / JST-3550-2022

 

Effects of Fibre Length on the Physical Properties of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Cement Board (OPEFB-CB)

Wenish Anak Maynet, Emedya Murniwaty Samsudin, Nik Mohd Zaini Nik Soh, Lokman Hakim Ismail, Hasniza Abu Bakar and Ahmed Elgadi

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, Volume 31, Issue 3, April 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47836/pjst.31.3.09

Keywords: Density, fibre length, hydration rate, OPEFB-CB, ratio, tensile strength, thickness swelling

Published on: 7 April 2023

In a cement board (CB) composite, fibres reinforce the board. It is because the length of the fibres significantly impacts the strength of the CB composite. Nonetheless, the physical properties of the CB are also an important aspect when dealing with the quality control of the final product. This study investigates the effects of various fibre lengths in CB fabrication on its physical properties, including the cement-hydration rate, tensile strength, density stability and thickness swelling (TS). Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibres at different lengths are used based on the mesh retained size of R7M, R14M, and R30M. The OPEFB-CB mixture used in this research is 3:1 (cement: fibre ratio), with a target density of 1,300 kg/m3. The sample is compressed using a 1000 psi cold-compression load to achieve the desired composite thickness of 12 mm. This research revealed that the longest fibres retained on the R7M mesh with an average length of 5 mm resulted in lower density and the highest TS value. Meanwhile, lower dimensional stability was achieved by OPEFB-CB composites using fibre that retained on the R14M and R30M, having an average length of 3 mm and 1 mm, respectively. Based on the results, the optimum fibre length recommended in the fabrication of OPEFB-CB composites is processed fibres retained on the R14M sieve with an average length of 3 mm. This recommendation is made based on the most stable density and lowest TS results achieved by the R14M retained fibres which is in the range of 1,231–1,309.4 kg/m3 and TS of 0.65 %.

  • Aanifah, F. J. M., Yee, P. L., Wasoh, H., & Abd-Aziz, S. (2014). Effect of different alkaline treatment on the release of ferulic acid from oil palm empty fruit bunch fibres. Journal of Oil Palm Research, 26(4), 321-331.

  • Akasah, Z. A., Mohd, N., Nik, Z., & Dullah, H. (2019). The influence of oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre geometry on mechanical performance of cement bonded fibre boards. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, 8(4), 547-552. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijmerr.8.4.547-552

  • Amel, B. A., Paridah, M. T., Rahim, S., Osman, Z., Zakiah, A., & Ahmed, S. H. (2014). Effects of kenaf bast fibres on hydration behaviour of cement. Journal of Tropical Forest Science, 26(3), 340-346.

  • Ayu, R. S., Khalina, A., Harmaen, A. S., Zaman, K., Isma, T., Liu, Q., Ilyas, R. A., & Lee, C. H. (2020). Characterization study of empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibers reinforcement in poly(butylene) succinate (PBS)/starch/glycerol composite sheet. Polymers, 12(7), Article 1571. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12071571

  • Elkordi, A. (2014). Alkali treatment of fan palm natural fibers for use in fiber reinforced concrete. European Scientific Journal, 10(12), 186-195.

  • Fang, T. W., Asyikin, N. S. S. N., Shawkataly, A. K. H. P., Kassim, M. H. M., & Syakir, M. I. (2017). Water absorption and thickness swelling of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) and seaweed composite for soil erosion mitigation. Journal of Physical Science, 28(2), 1-17.

  • Ibrahim, Z., Aziz, A. A., & Ramli, R. (2015). Effect of treatment on the oil content and surface morphology of oil palm (Elaeis Guineensis) empty fruit bunches (EFB) fibres. Wood Research, 60(1), 157-166.

  • Izani, M. N., Paridah, M. T., Anwar, U. M. K., Nor, M. M., & H’ng, P. S. (2013). Effects of fiber treatment on morphology, tensile and thermogravimetric analysis of oil palm empty fruit bunches fibers. Composites Part B: Engineering, 45(1), 1251-1257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2012.07.027

  • Jeyapragash, R., Srinivasan, V., & Sathiyamurthy, S. J. M. T. P. (2020). Mechanical properties of natural fiber/particulate reinforced epoxy composites - A review of the literature. Materials Today: Proceedings, 22, 1223-1227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.12.146

  • Kaliwon, J., Ahmad, S. S., & Aziz, A. A. (2009). Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) as Energy. Malaysian Palm Oil Board.

  • Kochova, K., Schollbach, K., & Brouwers, H. J. H. (2015, September 16-18). Use of alternative fibres in Wood Wool cement boards and their influence on cement hydration. In Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Building Materials, Ibausil (pp. 1375-1382). Bauhaus University, Weimar, Germany.

  • Loh, Y. W., H’ng, P. S., Lee, S. H., Lum, W. C., & Tan, C. K. (2010). Properties of particleboard produced from admixture of rubberwood and Mahang species. Asian Journal of Applied Sciences, 3(5), 310-316.

  • Onuorah, E. O., Okeke, C. A., Nwabanne, J. T., Nnabuife, E. L. C., & Obiorah, S. O. M. (2016). The effects of production parameters on properties of single and 3-layer cement-bonded composites made from oil palm empty fruit bunch and tropical hardwood sawmill residue. World Journal of Engineering, 12(6), 577-590. https://doi.org/10.1260/1708-5284.12.6.577

  • Ramlee, N. A., Jawaid, M., Zainudin, E. S., & Yamani, S. A. K. (2019). Tensile, physical and morphological properties of oil palm empty fruit bunch/sugarcane bagasse fibre reinforced phenolic hybrid composites. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 8(4), 3466-3474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2019.06.016

  • Schackow, A., Effting, C., Gomes, I. R., Patruni, I. Z., Vicenzi, F., & Kramel, C. (2016). Temperature variation in concrete samples due to cement hydration. Applied Thermal Engineering, 103, 1362-1369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.05.048

  • Soh, N. M. Z. N., Akasah, Z. A., Dullah, H., Aziz, A. A., & Aminudin, E. (2018). Alkaline treatments on EFB fibre: The effect on mechanical-physical properties and fibre-cement hydration rate. Malaysian Construction Research Journal, 4(2 Special Issue), 117-128.

  • Sugiman, S., Setyawan, P. D., & Anshari, B. (2019). Effect of fiber length on the mechanical properties and water absorption of bamboo fiber/polystyrene-modified unsaturated polyester composites. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 532, No. 1, p. 012008). IOP Publishing.

  • Supranto, S., Tawfiequrrahman, A., Yunanto, D. E., & Kurniawan, I. (2014, December 2-3). Oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber conversion to high refined cellulose using nitric acid and sodium hydroxide as the delignificating agents. AUN/SEEED-Net Regional Conference on Chemical Engineering (pp. 1-15). Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

  • Zuraida, N., Sopyan, I., & Zahurin, H. (2011). Effect of fiber length variations on mechanical and physical properties of coir fiber reinforced cement-albumen composite (CFRCC). IIUM Engineering Journal, 12(1), 65-77.

ISSN 0128-7680

e-ISSN 2231-8526

Article ID

JST-3550-2022

Download Full Article PDF

Share this article

Related Articles