Lignocellulosic composites made from agricultural and forestry wastes in Brazil

Abstract

The Brazilian market of wood panels is in a consolidation process and presents great dynamism, which requires the search for new alternative raw materials that may contribute in quantity and quality to the continuous increase of this economic sector. Transforming residues generated by Brazilian agricultural industry and forestry sector into high quality panels is an interesting solution for solving raw material demand problem. The present work aims to show the potential of different types of residues for panel production showed in several research works, which were conducted in the Experimental Unit of Panel Production (UEPAM) located at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Minas Gerais state, Brazil. According to results obtained, sugarcane bagasse, candeia wood and castor oil bean husk were the most promissory residues for particleboard production among the materials studied.