Valorization of fibrous sludge waste in eco-friendly particleboard production using citric-sucrose based bio-adhesives

This study investigated the competence of residue materials from paper processing, known as fibrous sludge waste (FSW), as a wood residue substitute for particleboard manufacturing using eco-friendly citric-sucrose (CS)-based adhesives. FSW was used as a replacement at various substitution levels (0%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) using the CS adhesive. The mechanical and physical properties at pressing temperatures of 180 °C, 200 °C, and 220 °C were investigated. Additionally, this study also compared the CS adhesives and tannin additional adhesive (commercial tannic acid and tannin extracted from neem leaves) to enhance the water resistance of particleboard. The results showed that the FSW fiber could substitute wood residues up to 100% (FSW100), which had optimal condition mechanical properties at pressed 200 °C when compared with the FSW0 (100% wood residues) at 220 °C. Moreover, the addition of extracted tannin to FSW100 reduced water absorption after 24 h of being submerged in water. Furthermore, the results revealed the presence of inorganic compounds in FSW, confirmed by SEM examination with EDS and XRF, including inorganic compound distribution by SR-XTM. This research demonstrates the possibility of using FSW to substitute 100% of wood and contribute to waste valorization and sustainability in the wood-based panel industry.