Preliminary Study of Moulded Laminated Veneer Oil Palm (MLVOP)

This research was undertaken to study the suitability of oil palm trunk to be utilized as a raw material for moulded laminated veneer oil palm (MLVOP). The trunks were converted into veneers by rotary peeling machine. The veneers were segregated into two veneer qualities namely superior (S) and inferior (I). The methods of segregating veneers quality were defined. The superior veneers were obtained by peeling the billets until their diameters left approximately 12 inches, meanwhile the inferior veneers were obtained by further peeling the same billets used for obtaining superior veneers until their diameters left 4 inches. The mean densities for superior veneer as well as inferior veneer were about 478.8 kg/m3 and 385.1 kg/m3 respectively. The mean moisture content of both superior and inferior veneers was approximately 11%. The veneers were arranged with 5 layers into three types of moulded shapes of furniture components namely i) 100% S ii) alternate S and I and iii) surface S & core I. The suitable pressure, temperature and time were set as important parameters. The arrangements of veneer quality were pressed using V-shape mould through hot press machine with three parameters pressure 1500 psi, 2000 psi and 2500 psi. Two types of adhesives namely UF and PF were used to produce MLVOP. The mechanical properties of the composites were tested with three bending types i.e. flat bending, type-V bending, and type-OV in accordance with BS EN 310-1993. The results showed that most of the samples bonded with UF-resin have better strengths (MOR and MOE) when tested with the three bending tests compared to the samples bonded with PF-resin. However, the results vary depends on the veneer arrangements.