Journal of Agricultural Science; Vol. 9, No. 8; 2017 ISSN 1916-9752 E-ISSN 1916-9760 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 237 Assessing the Suitability of Agro-Waste from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches as Quality Eco-Composite Boards Razak Wahab 1 , Mohd Sukhairi Mat Rasat 2 , Hashim W. Samsi 3 , Mohd Tamizi Mustafa 3 & Siti Marlia Mohd Don 2 1 University College of Technology Sarawak, Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia 2 Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Jeli Campus, Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia 3 Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Correspondence: Razak Wahab, University College of Technology Sarawak, 96000 Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia. Tel: 6019-862-8787. E-mail: drrazakw5181@ucts.edu.my Received: May 29, 2017 Accepted: June 26, 2017 Online Published: July 15, 2017 doi:10.5539/jas.v9n8p237 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v9n8p237 Abstract The properties of eco-composite boards from agro-waste of oil palm empty fruit bunches were studied. The oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) obtained from a private oil palm plantation. By using fibre cutter and particle crusher, these EFB refined. Hardeners and wax added at 1% and 3% during the mixing process. Boards with densities of 500, 600 and 700 kg/m 3 produced using resin urea formaldehyde as the bonding agent at 10, 12 and 14%. The boards conditioned in a conditioning chamber set at 20±2 °C and 65% relative humidity before undergoing subsequent testing. The EN Standards specifications applied in the preparation of test samples and testing. Results showed the highest modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) achieved in this study were 22.91 N/mm 2 and 2059.56 N/mm 2 . The internal bonding was found to be at 0.98 N/mm 2 , and 467.47 N/mm 2 and 512.37 N/mm 2 respectively for the edge and face screw withdrawal. Boards with 700 kg/m 3 density and 14% resin content met the requirement of standard specifications. Scanning electron microscopy machine used to study the resin-fibre bonding property. Resin and fibre in the board inspected carefully, and voids appeared at the cross-section of the board with density 500 kg/m 3 at 10% resin suggesting moisture penetrated into the board via the open spaces and weakened the linkages existed, thus cause the board to have low properties. The thermogravimetric analysis indicates maximum rate of decomposition for the EFB boards occurred at 380.83 °C. This study shows that the board’s density and resin content applied influence on the board’s overall properties with boards produced at 700 kg/m 3 density with 14% resin content showed excellent overall properties with good dimensional stability. Keywords: empty fruit bunch, eco-composite boards, boards properties, scanning electron microscope, thermogravimetric analysis 1. Introduction The timber industry has started slowly to turn to wood composite as an alternative to the use of natural timber. The demands for natural timber have increased due to the shortage of the wood supply (Wahab et al., 2008, 2016; Rasat et al., 2013a; Rowell, 2012). Oil palm is a valuable plantation and by far the largest crop in Malaysia. The oil palm trees become unproductive economically after reaching 25-30 years and need replanting. An enormous amount of oil palm biomass becomes available during this period. This biomass usually left to rot in the fields. This readily available renewable resource could be used as a raw material for wood-based industry (Rasat et al., 2013b, 2013c, 2013e). Several studies have been conducted to determine the suitable of using the lignocellulose material from oil palm trunks to replace wood in wood-based panel industry. Apart from the abundance of oil palm stems, EFB is another type of the oil palm biomass that can be utilized. EFB is amounting to 12.4 million tons per year (fresh weight) and regularly discharged from palm oil refineries (Khalil et al., 2007). It is a lignocellulosic material that has potential as the natural fibre resource. The moisture content of fresh EFB is very high, about over 60% on a wet EFB basis. EFB is a poor material fuel and presents a considerable emission problem during burning. Palm oil mills typically use the shell and drier part of the fibre product rather than EFB, to fuel their boilers (Abdullah & Bridgwater, 2006). EFB are available in abundance in Malaysia, converting them into composite boards can be a way to resolve the scarcity of wood sources in the tropical region of the world where the plants grow.