Abstract:
Coffee husk is the outer membrane of coffee bean that obtain during processing of coffee
cherries. It is considered as a short fibers and can be used in place of wood particle for chipboard
manufacturing because it contain the same basic composition with wood but differ in
percentages. This residue most of the time considered as fertilizer released to the farmers land.
But researchers identify that it have less fertilizer value and less usable as food for cattle. The
study area of the thesis is functionality test of coffee husks for manufacturing chipboards. These
chipboards are made from only coffee husks and coffee husk - wood particle glued by
ureaformaldyde resins. These are done by calculating volume fraction of the particle and resin in
the mixture. After manufacturing, important physical tests (the density, moisture content, water
absorption and thickness swelling) and some mechanical tests of the chipboards are analyzed.
Mathematical modeling of MOE and life span of the coffee husk boards. Also Solid work
software simulation to analyze bending and compression strength properties of the chipboard.
From experimental result the boards are medium density that are commercial standards. The
more moisture content value of coffee husk chipboards can be traced back to the hygroscopic
behavior of the coffee husk. The hardness test measured using Rockwell hardness shows the
board made from coffee husks - wood particle is harder than pure coffee husk chipboard. The
bending and compression strength obtained from simulation is almost similar to the result
obtained by different researchers. The life span of the chipboard is service time of the board and
depend on three major factors such as load, temperature and moisture content and decrease with
the increment of these factors and prone to degradation of the chipboard. At the end the result of
the work conclude that coffee husk can be alternative raw material for chipboard manufacturing
industries.
