Incorporation of hazelnut shell and husk in MDF production.

Hazelnut shell and husk (Coryllus arellana L.) is an abundant agricultural residue in Turkey and investigating the possibilities of utilizing husk and shell in panel production might help to overcome the raw material shortage that the panel industry is facing. The aim of this work was to investigate the possibilities of utilizing hazelnut shell and husk in medium density fiberboard (MDF) production. To produce general purpose fiberboards, fiber-husk and fiber-shell mixtures at various percentages were examined in this study. The results indicated that panels could be produced utilizing hazelnut husk up to 20% addition without falling below the properties required in the standards. Shell addition was restricted up to 10%, because higher addition levels diminished the elastic modulus and internal bond strength below the acceptable level.

The manufacture of particleboards using mixture of peanut hull (Arachis hypoqaea L.) and European Black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) wood chips.

This research was conducted to investigate the suitability of peanut hull to produce general purpose particleboards. A series of panels were produced using peanut hull and mixture of peanut hull and European Black pine wood chips. Particleboards were manufactured using various hull ratios in the mixture (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%). Urea formaldehyde adhesive was utilized in board production and boards were produced to target panel's density of 0.7 g/cm3. Panels were tested for some physical (water absorption and thickness swelling), chemical (holocellulose content, lignin content, alcohol-benzene solubility, 1% NaOH solubility, hot water solubility and cold water solubility) and mechanical (modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity and internal bond) properties. The main observation was that increase in peanut hull in the mixture resulted in a decrease in mechanical and physical properties of produced panels and panel including 25% hull in the mixture solely met the standard required by TS-EN 312 standard. Conclusively, a valuable renewable natural resource, peanut hull could be utilized in panel production while it has been mixed to the wood chips.