A new alternative to wood based on renewable materials

摘要

A medium density fibre board, a composite material, has been developed and patented which can be used in place of wood effectively. It consists of coir fibre and cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) as the major constituents. Both the materials are agro-based and renewable. The product is smooth-surfaced, dark brown and is suitable for interior applications. The physico-mechanical properties of the board meet the general purpose requirements as specified in the IS:3087-(1983). In this paper salient features of the developed product, raw material details, properties and the technology for its production are described in brief.