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6037482 
Journal Article 
Medium-density Particleboard from Saline Jose Tall Wheatgrass 
Blunk, S; Jenkins, BM; Pan, Z; Zhang, R; Zheng, Y 
2005 
Paper 
13 p. 
Jose Tall Wheatgrass (JTW), Agropyron elongatum, is a salt resistant crop currently produced in California to help manage saline subsurface drainage water. There is a need to find high value uses for such material. The objective of this study was to characterize the mechanical properties and water resistance of medium-density particleboard made from saline JTW. A two-factor factorial experiment design was used to determine the effects of NaOH treatment and type of adhesives, including polymeric methane diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI) and Urea formaldehyde (UF) resin, on mechanical properties and water resistance of finished particleboards. To study the binding capability of the particles, NaOH treatment was used to wash the particles for removing the wax and inorganic silica on the surface of JTW. This study also characterized the effects of different particleboard densities (0.71, 0.72, 0.73, 0.74, and 0.75 g/cm3) and initial moisture contents (MC) of the particles (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10%) on mechanical properties and water resistance of particleboards. Water resistance and mechanical properties of finished particleboard were measured. The water resistance properties included water absorption and thickness swell and mechanical properties included modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), internal bond strength (IB), and tensile strength (TS). The particleboards made with PMDI showed superior mechanical strength and water resistance compared with those made with UF regardless of the use of NaOH treatment. The NaOH treatment deteriorated the mechanical strength and water resistance capability of the particleboards, but did not affect the contact angles between the adhesives and JTW. When the density of the particleboards increased, both mechanical strength and the water resistance were improved. Among the five MC tested, from the particles of 8% initial MC resulted in the best mechanical properties and water resistance of the particleboard. 
water content; Thinopyrum elongatum; halophytes; medium density fiberboards; salinity; saline water; mechanical properties; sodium hydroxide; alkali treatment; urea formaldehyde; adhesives; density; swelling (materials); absorption; salt tolerance; particles; contact angle; polymeric methane diphenyl diisocyanate; water resistance; Internet resource AgSpace