Study on the Water Absorption and Hardness of Phenolated Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (PEFB)-base Biocomposite

Novolac type resin was prepared by liquefaction reaction of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) in the presence of phenol at various reaction conditions. This polymer later is known as phenolated EFB (PEFB). PEFB-base board was made using PEFB as a polymer matrix phase and EFB as a filler. The effect of various liquefaction conditions and filler content on water absorption and thickness swelling of PEFB-base board was studied. The hardness of these samples also was examined before and after water absorption. The result clearly showed that the major part of water absorption and thickness swelling were due to water absorption of EFB filler. It was found that the water absorption in the PEFB-base board is slightly higher than the commercial novolac resin board. The result of hardness test showed a substantial decrease in hardness after water absorption test at higher filler content (80%). It was also found that the reduction of hardness in PEFB-base board after water absorption is lower than the commercial novolac-base board.