Manufacture and properties of oil palm frond cement-bonded board

This study was designed to reveal the role of the cement/wood ratio in a hy dration test of wood-cement mixtures. The compatibility of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) fronds-cement mixtures was tested in the hydration test, with the addition of magnesium chloride as an accelerator at different wate r/cement ratios. To prove the findings on the hydration behavior of compone nts, the cement-bonded boards were manufactured using a conventional cold-p ressing method at different cement/wood ratios. Results indicated that the optimum weight ration of cement/wood increased with decreasing wood powder size based on the equal specific surface area ratio of cement/wood in the h ydration test and board manufacturing. The addition of magnesium chloride i mproved the compatibility of oil palm fronds with cement; the compatibility factor (C-A) increased by more than 90% with the addition of 5% magnesium chloride. The C-A factor increased proportionally with a higher magnesium c hloride content and a higher water/cement ratio. The addition of magnesium chloride also enhanced the cement hydration and ultimate board strength pro perties. However, the addition of 5% magnesium chloride did not improve the properties of boards sufficiently at a cement/wood ratio of 2.2:1.0.