DEVELOPMENT OF PAPER PULP FILLED CEMENTITIOUS COMPOSITES FOR FURNITURE AND FITTINGS APPLICATIONS

The need for aesthetic, strong and environmentally beneficial composites for furniture and fittings was the thrust of this work. The research involves comparative study and analysis of the behavior of brown and white papers when they are mixed with different proportions of cement as binder. Waste papers from offices were sourced locally and were sorted into white and brown papers after which the papers were pulverized and made into slurry. The slurry obtained were compacted into flexural and compressive tests samples with the aid of compacting machine by applying a load of 20 KN for 5 minutes followed by drying at room temperature in the laboratory. Flexural, compressive and water absorption tests were carried out on the samples using universal testing machine and percentage weight different of immersed samples in water respectively. It was observed from the results that, white paper cement bonded samples possessed the best properties in all compared to brown paper cement bonded samples. The results showed that the mixture of 70 % white paper and 30 % cement possess the best combination of mechanical and physical properties and hence, the potential material for paper pulp composite in low cost furniture and fittings applications.