Partial Replacement of Glass Fiber with Kenaf Waste in Cement Board Production

Abstract

Waste plantation can be utilized as a raw material in the production of construction materials such as bricks and cement board in order to achieve sustainable technologies. This study investigated the potential of waste kenaf bast fiber from decortications extraction method as the glass fibre replacement in the manufacturing of cement board. These boards were made from waste kenaf bast fiber, cement and water at a cement:fibre:water ratio of 2:1:2. Six (6) series of mixtures with different kenaf replacement; Series 1 (100 % kenaf), Series 2 (80 % kenaf fiber and 20 % glass fiber), Series 3 (60 % kenaf fiber and 40 % glass fiber), Series 4 (40 % kenaf fiber and 60 % glass fiber), Series 5 (20 % kenaf fiber and 80 % glass fiber) and Series 6 (100 % glass fiber) were prepared and and 460 mm × 460 mm size of boards were cast. The target board density was 650 kg/m 3 . The effects of using different percentages replacement of kenaf waste on internal bond and bending strength of the resulted cement boards were investigated after 28 days curing process. The mechanical and physical properties of the boards were evaluated based on MS 934 (1986). The results showed that boards Series 4 achieved the highest bending strength and internal bond (IB) strength compared to other boards and satisfied the requirement for lightweight board as stipulated in Malaysian Standard MS 934.