Cement-bonded wood particleboard with a mixture of eucalypt and rubberwood EsmeraldaY.A.Okino * ,M arioR.deSouza,MarcosA.E.Santana,MarcusV.daS.Alves, MariaElietedeSousa,DivinoE.Teixeira Laboratorio de Produtos Florestais, IBAMA/LPF, SAIN Av. L4 Lote 04, Bras  ılia, DF 70818-900, Brazil Received 27 November 2002; accepted 31 January 2003 Abstract Six eucalypts species Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., E. citriodora Hook, E. cloeziana F. Muell, E. grandis Hill ex. Maiden, E. pilularis Sm.,and E. urophylla S.T.Blake)andtwoclonesofrubberwood(Hevea brasiliensis (WilldexAdr.deJuss)Muell.Arg.), planted in Brazil, were used to manufacture wood cement-bonded particleboard (CBWP). Boards measuring 450  450  13 mm weremanufacturedinawood/cement/waterratioof1:4:1,byweight;nominaldensityof1.4g/cm 3 and4%ofadditive(CaCl 2 H 2 O) usingamixtureofeacheucalyptsspecies(50%)andthetwoclonesofrubberwood(25%ofeach).Threereplicationswerefabricated for each treatment and the physical and mechanical properties of the boards evaluated according to ASTM D 1037-96a [Standard testmethodsforevaluatingpropertiesofwood-basefiberandparticlepanelmaterials.ASTMD1037-96a,vol.04.09.ASTM,1998]. Theresultsofmodulusofelasticityrangedfrom4090to4771MPa.Theresultsofmodulusofrupturerangedfrom5.8to6.4MPa. Internal bond were similar to those found in the literature. Screw withdrawal values were up to 2020 N. The panels showed very good dimensional stability. The mixture of species and also the addition of calcium chloride have improved the physical and me- chanical properties of the panels. Decay fungi tests were conducted according to the ASTM D 2017-81 [Standard test method for accelerated laboratory test of natural decay resistance of woods. ASTM D 2017-81, vol. 04.09. ASTM, 1994-e1. p. 324] for two representative wood-attacking fungi, a brown-rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum (Persoon ex Fries) Murrill and a white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor (LinnaeusexFries)Pil at.Twelvesamplesweretestedandafter12weeksofexposuretheaverageweightlosswas determined. The test indicated that CBWP was classified as ‘‘highly resistant’’ and the samples gained weight. Ó 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Inorganic-bonded particleboard; Hevea brasiliensis; Eucalyptus spp.; Clone; Physical and mechanical properties; Biodegradation; T. versicolor; G. trabeum; White and brown-rotters 1. Introduction Eucalypt is one of the most successful fast-growing plantation species in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Itsworldwideimportanceisgrowing.Eucalyptwoodisa valuablerawmaterialformanyuses,fromsawnwoodfor construction and furniture to pulp and panels. Accord- ing to estimates, eucalypts plantation covers probably between 8 and 12 million hectares, over 4 million in Brazil alone. The genus is extremely diversified with wood density ranging from about 450 to over 1000 kg/ m 3 ,colorsfromlightbrowntodarkred.Fromthemany eucalyptsspecies,some20havebeenplantedextensively throughout the world, but well over 100 have been the subjectoftrials.Themostwidelyplantedare Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. globulus, E. viminalis and E. nitens in temperate areas, E. saligna, E. citriodora, E. tereticornis and E. grandis in subtropical regions and E. urophylla and E. deglupta intropicalclimates. E. urophylla hasbeen especiallysuccessfulinrecentyears,Kaumanetal.[1]. Rubberwood tree generally performs best in climates ofthetropicallowlandandevergreenrainforestregions. It has a light straw to light brown coloured timber with the sapwood generally being indistinguishable from the heartwood. Wood density varies from 550 to 650 kg/m 3 and has the strength properties associated with other * Corresponding author. Tel.: +55-61-316-1510; fax: +55-61-225- 1182. E-mail addresses: okino@lpf.ibama.gov.br (E.Y.A. Okino), msouza@lpf.ibama.gov.br (M.R. de Souza), marcos@lpf.ibama. gov.br (M.A.E. Santana), marcus@lpf.ibama.gov.br (M.V.S. Alves), eliete@lpf.ibama.gov.br (M.E. de Sousa), divinot@lpf.ibama.gov.br (D.E. Teixeira). 0958-9465/$ - see front matter Ó 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0958-9465(03)00061-1 Cement & Concrete Composites 26 (2004) 729–734 www.elsevier.com/locate/cemconcomp