SIFAT PAPAN SERAT MDF DENGAN PENAMBAHAN ARANG (Properties of Medium Density Fiberboard with Charcoal Incorporation) Oleh/ : By Saptadi Darmawan , Gustan Pari & Adi Santoso 1 2 2 Peneliti pada Balai Penelitian Kehutanan Mataram Pusat Litbang Keteknikan Kehutanan dan Pengolahan Hasil Hutan Bogor Jln. Gunung Batu No. 5, Bogor Telp. 0251-8633378; Fax.0251-8633413 Diterima: 24 Maret 2010 ; disetujui : 10 Nopember 2010 1 2 ABSTRACT Charcoal with its porous structure enables it to adsorb pollutants in gaseous or liquid phase, although it does not perform as effectively as its corresponding active charcoal. Meanwhile, medium density fiberboard (MDF) has become one of the wood-based panels which develops rapidly. In relevant, this experiment dealt with charcoal addition during MDF type fiberboard manufacture bonded with urea formaldehyde adhesive and shaped under dry process, and the fiber materials for the MDF were the mixture of mangium and rubberwood TMP (Thermo-Mechanical Pulping) pulp at 3:1 proportion (w/w). Meanwhile, the fiber charcoal resulted from the carbonization of those mixed TMP pulp. Expectedly, the incorporation of charcoal could improve adsorption capacity of the resulting MDF. In this experiment, the amounts of charcoal as incorporated implied from the compositions of TMP fiber-charcoal mixture at consecutively 100:0 , 90:10, 80:20, and 70:30 based on oven dry weight. Observation was performed regarding MDF adsorption-capacities on benzene, chloroform, and formaldehyde (all in gaseous or vapor forms). Results revealed that the greater the amount of charcoal added, the greater also the adsorption capacity of MDF. Unfortunately, such has brought about the decrease in physical and mechanical properties of MDF. Those MDF properties with TMP fiber-charcoal composition at 90:10 were similar to those of MDF control, and could satisfy the standard of type-25 JIS, except for MOE (Type-15 JIS) and internal bonding strength. Charcoal incorporation enabled the corresponding to slow down the rate of the MDF formaldehyde emission Keywords : Charcoal, fiberboard properties, dry process, adsorption, formaldehyde emission. porous medium density fiberboard . Arang dengan strukturnya yang memiliki kemampuan menyerap polutan dalam fase cair maupun gas, walaupun tidak sebaik arang aktifnya. Saat ini papan serat kerapatan sedang ( /MDF) merupakan salah satu produk panel kayu yang berkembang pesat. Pada penelitian ini arang yang ditambahkan dalam pembuatan MDF direkat menggunakan resin urea formaldehida dan dibentuk dengan proses kering, dimana bahan baku serat yang digunakan untuk pembuatan MDF merupakan campuran pulp TMP kayu mangium dan karet pada perbandingan 3:1 (b/b). Sementara itu arang yang digunakan diperoleh dari hasil karbonisasi campuran pulp TMP tersebut. Penggunaan arang dalam pembuatan MDF diharapkan dapat meningkatkan kemampuan daya serapnya. Pada pembuatan MDF, digunakan campuran serat dan arang pulp TMP pada beberapa komposisi yaitu 100:0, 90:10, ABSTRAK 394