Water Absorption and Thickness Swelling Behavior of Sago Particles Urea Formaldehyde Particleboard

This paper focused on sago particles with adhesive of low emission urea formaldehyde (UF) resin containing 51.5 % solid content. The fabrication and testing method are based on Japanese Industrial Standard A 5908 standard. The production of single-layer particleboards using the sago particles has been established at targeted density of 600kg/m3. Fibre weight fractions of 90 %, 85 %, 80 %, 75 % and 70 % and different sizes of particles were used in the fabrication of sago-UF composite boards. All the panels are tested for physical test properties which is water absorption and thickness swelling. The combination of sago particles with UF panels can be utilized for general indoor application purposes such as furniture manufacturing. The result showed that sago can be an alternative raw material in the manufacture of particleboards.