Some properties of composite corn cob and sawdust particle boards

This research examined the possibility of developing a composite corncob (CC) and sawdust (SD) particle board using urea formaldehyde as binder. The panels were produced using 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% variations for both agricultural wastes with a constant volume of adhesive to evaluate their effect on the physical and mechanical properties. The results showed that 25% and 50% replacement of SD with CC had favourable physical properties recommendable for indoor uses in buildings. In contrast, the particleboards cannot be recommended for load bearing purposes based on poor mechanical properties which improved as the composition of CC increased from 25% to 75% and also because it failed to satisfy European Standard requirements. 75% CC replacement had the highest value for both MOR and MOE but possessed poor physical properties. Within the experimental investigation and possible limitations the panels with 50% CC replacement were the most preferred since they had preferable performances for both physical and mechanical properties.