Paper Title
Leveraging the Waste Value of Empty Palm Fruit Bunches as Main Material on Particleboard Using Citric Acid Adhesive

Abstract
Processing the oil palm fresh fruits into palm oil produced by-products (waste) that had not been well handled in palm oil mills, one of this by-products was empty fruit bunches (EFB). EFB contains high quantity of lignocellulosic almost similar to soft wood (trembling aspen), thus it was possible to be used as wood subtitute on particleboard. Mostly particleboad production using synthetic materials as adhesive that contribute on environment pollution because it contain hazardous materials. Recently, researchers invented citric acid as natural adhesive as subtitute for the synthetic adhesive that eco-friendly. However, there is still no evidence that the quality of the EFB particleboad using citric acid as adhesive fulfill industry standard (SNI 03-2105-2006) and it was possible to be mass-production. In this research, particleboard produced using EFB fiber and citric acid as adhesive. Composition of the adhesive that used as follows: 20, 25, 30 wt.%, and pressing temperature on 180, 200°C. Several tests performed on each particleboard’s composition including physical and mechanical properties. Pressin temperature had a significant effect on particleboard production. All the particleboard with pressing temperature 180°C and particleboard 20 wt.% with pressing temperature 200°C were failed to fulfill the SNI standard. Particleboard 25, 30 wt.% with pressing temperature 200°C fulfill the SNI requirement. Based on Material Value Conservation paradigm, EFB waste was usable to be the main material on particleboad filling and fulfill industry standard requirement and also estimated can be mass produced. Keywords - Material value conservation, Empty fruit bunch (EFB), particle board, citric acid, MOE, MOR, internal bond.