Abstract

Improved, sustainable and eco-system friendly material is the focus to developed material for construction industry, the study evaluated, the physio-mechanical properties of particleboards manufactured from wood solid waste and modified cassava starch (MSC); as reinforcer. The starch was extracted from liquid waste from cassava processing and dried into powder form, modified with 24% glutardialdehyde solution. Density of boards, thickness swelling (TS) Water absorption (WA); modulus of elasticity (MoE) and modulus of rupture (MoR), were evaluated according to ASTM standards respectively. Density of boards were recorded 0.22 to 0.58g/cm3, TS and WS recorded are 2 to 24h immersion, 1.6 67.30% and 31.6 to 140.4%. MoE and MoR, with peak of values 533.5N/mm2and 35.7N/mm2. The microstructural and elemental analyses of boards were examined with Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); SEM analysis showed granules of modified cassava starch on the surface of the boards, while FTIR showed presence of eater and aldehyde forms attributed to hydroscopic formation of MCS binder. Particle board manufactured from MCS binder exhibited properties suitable for non-loading bearing capacity with reference to unmodified particleboards.