Some chemical properties of hazelnut husk and its suitability for particleboard production

Hazelnut husk is a renewable natural resource that has not industrial utilization yet. The objective of this study was to examine some chemical properties (holocellulose, cellulose, lignin and ash contents, alcohol-benzene, hot and cold water solubility and solubility in dilute alkali (1% NaOH)) of hazelnut husk and to evaluate its suitability to produce composite panels. For this study, particleboards were produced using hazelnut husk as an alternative raw material for the forest products industry. Two panel density levels (0.6 and 0.7 g/cm(3)) and three types of resins (urea-formaldehyde (UF), phenol formaldehyde (PF), melamine-formaldehyde (MUF)) were selected as treatments. The findings indicated that hazelnut husk waste is a valuable renewable natural resource for particleboard production and could be utilized as a substitute for wood in board production. Its shortcomings, such as higher water absorption and thickness swelling could easily be controlled by adding water repellent chemicals in production. The bending and the internal bond strength properties of the hazelnut husk boards produced met the requirement for the general purpose product standards (TS-EN 312-2) at 0.70 g/cm(3) density. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.