Study on quality improvement of palm trunk by thermoplastic impregnation

Due to abundance of palm trunk waste, palm trunk can be used as alternative raw material of wood composites to replace future timber. However, the morphological of palm trunk is not truly woody material, so the quality improvement was studied by thermoplastic impregnation at different soaking time. The effect of thermoplastic resin impregnation on the morphological, physical and mechanical was investigated in this study. It was found that the amount of resin uptake to the palm trunk ranged from 3.85% to 6.25%. The density, thickness swelling and water absorption of treated palm trunk significantly improved. While, the modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) of treated palm trunk was greater than untreated. This findings in this study indicated that thermoplastic resin would be considered alternative to formaldehyde-based resin to improved properties of palm trunk. At the request of all authors and with the approval of the proceedings editor, article 020268 titled, "Study on Quality Improvement of Palm Trunk by Thermoplastic Impregnation," is being retracted from the public record due to the fact that it is a duplication of article 020153 published in the same volume.