Rigid plastic-free fibreboards made from "hairy" cellulose fibres and oil palm empty fruit bunch
Author(s)
Smaradhana, Dharu Feby
Ordonez, Diego Freire
Lee, Koon-Yang
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Empty fruit bunch (EFB), an abundant lignocellulosic residue from the palm oil milling process, is typically discarded on open land or used as mulch. In this work, a simple method that mimics a papermaking process, was developed to upcycle EFB into higher value fibreboard without the need for any polymeric binders. The cellulose network from pulp fibres was utilised to hold the otherwise loose EFB fibres together to produce a rigid EFB fibreboard. Mechanical refinement was performed using a re-circulating colloid mill to improve the binding performance of the cellulose fibres . EFB fibreboard containing 30 wt.% of 30 min refined “hairy” cellulose fibres possessed a flexural modulus of ~2.9 GPa and strength of ~22 MPa, comparable to commercial particleboard (PB) and medium density fibreboard (MDF). A lifecycle analysis (LCA) model using ReCiPe 2016 method and Ecoinvent database was used to compare the environmental impact of the EFB fibreboard and MDF production. The results show that the EFB fibreboard possessed a lower environmental impact on global warming potential and the various end-point impact categories compared to MDF. This work unveils new opportunities to convert palm oil waste into all-lignocellulosic fibreboard, moving away from traditional practices which align with the concept of a circular bioeconomy.
Date Issued
2025-04-14
Date Acceptance
2024-12-01
Citation
ChemSusChem, 2025, 18 (8)
ISSN
1864-5631
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
ChemSusChem
Volume
18
Issue
8
Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Author(s). ChemSusChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39621521
Subjects
BACTERIAL CELLULOSE
BIOMASS
BLENDS
CARBON
Cellulose
Chemistry
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
COMPOSITES
COST
EMISSIONS
Empty fruit bunch
ENERGY
Fibreboard
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
LCA
LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT
Palm oil waste
Physical Sciences
Science & Technology
Science & Technology - Other Topics
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Germany
Article Number
e202401878
Date Publish Online
2024-12-02