Properties of Citric Acid-bonded Composite Board from Elephant Dung Fibers

An elephant digests only around 30~45% of what it consumes; therefore the undigested material mainly passes as intact fibres. Elephant food is usually composed of grass, leaves, twigs, bark, fruit and seed pods. This research aimed to utilize the elephant dung fibers as material for composite board and citric acid as a bonding agent. Citric acid contents in this research were set at 0 wt% (binderless composite board), 10 wt%, 20 wt%, and 30 wt% based on dry weight particles, while the target density was set at $0.8g/cm^3$. Pressing temperatures were set at $180^{\circ}C$ and $200^{\circ}C$ with the pressing time was 10 minutes. Physical and mechanical properties tests were then performed according to Japanese Industrial Standard A 5905. The result showed that elephant dung fibers could be used as potential materials for composite board. Addition of citric acid and pressing temperature significantly increased the quality of composite board. Infrared analysis indicated that the presence of ester linkages much higher with the increasing of citric acid content and pressing temperature. The optimum properties of composite board made from elephant dung fibers could be achieved at pressing temperature of $200^{\circ}C$ and a citric acid content of 20 wt%.