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The Use of Crop Residues for Board-making

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Poo Chow
Poo Chow
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Wood Science, Department of Forestry, College of Agriculture, University of Illinois, 211 Mumford Hall, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, U.S.A.
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Extract

The current environmental pollution problems created by burning and dumping agricultural residues, together with concern for the conservation of future forest resources, have engendered interest in finding utilization outlets in building-board manufacture for the large amounts of crop residues that are produced annually. Experimental boards were made from corncobs, corn-stalks (Zea mays), peanut-hulls (Arachis hypogaed), sunflower seed-hulls (Helianthus annuus), and spent instant coffee-grounds (Coffea arabica). In general, most of the residues alone, and mixtures of either a wood waste and a crop residue or two different crop residues, produced composite boards having properties comparable with or better than those of boards made from conventional wood materials. However, boards made from spent coffee-grounds or sunflower seed-hulls can only be used as vertical, installed decorative items.

The utilization of crop residues for the production of useful board products will not only provide an acceptable disposal method for those who produce the residues, but will also reduce pressures on future forest resources. In looking to the future, it seems clear that the reasons for improving the environment and for extending the future wood supply, will soon outweigh the objection to using crop residues for board production which involve high collecting and handling costs.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , Spring 1976 , pp. 59 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1976

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