Production and characterization of particleboard from leather shavings and waste papers

Abstract

Large quantities of leather solid wastes are generated by leather industries and these wastes are either thrown away or dumped in open lands causing environmental issues. Wet blue leather solid wastes are biologically resistant as a result of complexation between chromium (III) salts and the carboxyl groups of collagens. Chrome shavings waste is one of the highly generated solid wastes and there is no proper utilization of these huge amount of waste. Preparation of leather boards from chrome shavings waste is economical and helps in reducing environmental pollution. Incorporating waste papers into the preparation of particleboards enhances the mechanical and physical properties. The aim of this study was to design and produce a particle board from leather shavings and waste papers through the compression method, to determine the effects of resin content, blend ratio and fat treatment of particles on the properties of the board as well as to characterize the physical and mechanical properties of the fabricated board. The leather and paper waste were blended in ratios of 1:1, 1:3 and 3:1 and moulded into particleboard using a cold hydraulic press. A two variable parameter design was used to determine the effects they have on properties of fabricated board. The particulars of leather shavings included 4.4 pH, 10.3% moisture content, 80.6% volatile matter and 2.7% chromium. The resulting fabricated board was characterized by density in the range 1089 to 1379 kg/m 3 . The moisture content of the board varied between 1.3% and 5.5% while water absorption was between 1.8% to 6.3%. The internal bond strength was at the range of 2.82 to 16.56 MPa, Modulus of Rupture (MOR) from 10.06 to 21.05 MPa and modulus of elasticity was ranging between 3.054-6.094 GPa. Finally, the maximum and minimum impact strength was 67 KJ/m 2 and 32.33 KJ/m 2 , respectively. From the results of this study it was concluded that leather shavings and waste papers can be used as alternative raw materials for particleboard production and that physical and mechanical properties were depended on the resin content and the blend ratio. Particle treatment had positive effects on the properties of the particleboard. Future work should study the effects of more parameters on particleboard and do optimization studies on production of particleboard. In addition, further study is required on microscopy to determine bonding between particles and hence how bonding affects board properties.