EVALUATION OF USING MIDRIBS OF DATE PALM FRONDS AS A RAW MATERIAL FOR WOOD-CEMENT COMPOSITE PANELS INDUSTRY IN SAUDI ARABIA

R.A. Nasser, H.A. Al-Mefarrej
This study was carried out in 2008 to investigate the suitability of date palm midribs (Phoenix dactelifera L.) as a lignocellulosic material for the production of wood-cement composite panels, in addition to enhancing their compatibility with cement using various pretreatments and chemical additives. Materials used for this study were midribs of fronds of different date palm cultivars available in Saudi Arabia and Portland cement (Type I) manufactured by Yammama Cement Company. To achieve this aim, hydration tests of net cement and date palm-cement mixture were carried out using a 2-L Dewar flask. The suitability of date palm for this industry was made according to inhibitory index (I) and compatibility factor (CA) which were calculated from the hydration data. The results showed that under untreated condition, date palm particles are incompatible with cement and were classified as “unsuitable” for making wood-cement boards. Using of cold or hot water extraction for date palm materials resulted in an enhancement in their compatibility with cement. However, date palm can be reclassified as suitable under limited conditions for making wood-cement boards only by using hot water extraction. Addition of 3% CaCl2 to untreated date palm particles resulted in it being reclassified to suitable under limited conditions (Tmax value was 54.23°C and CA value was 75.73%). These results suggested that date palm midribs can be used to produce wood-cement panels either after extraction by hot water or addition of 3% CaCl2 as an accelerator to the date palm-cement mixture.
Nasser, R.A. and Al-Mefarrej, H.A. (2010). EVALUATION OF USING MIDRIBS OF DATE PALM FRONDS AS A RAW MATERIAL FOR WOOD-CEMENT COMPOSITE PANELS INDUSTRY IN SAUDI ARABIA. Acta Hortic. 882, 1071-1082
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.882.124
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.882.124
date palm, wood-cement panels, Portland cement, hydration test, compatibility
English

Acta Horticulturae