Investigating Some Physical Properties of Composite Board, Produced from Sunflower Stalks, Designed Horizontally

The aim of this study was to investigate the usage possibilities of sunflower stalks in the manufacturing of alternative insulation board, which are left as waste (agro-fiber wastes), in the fields and are useless except for firing like a lot of agricultural wastes in Turkey and in the world every year. The sunflower stalks were designed horizontally to produce the board, and its physical properties were compared to the honeycombshaped composite board filled with kraft paper (Control board). Urea formaldehyde (UF) resin, Melamine Urea Formaldehyde (MUF) resin, and the D2 (PVA based) adhesives were employed for producing the composite boards. The physical properties [Chemical analysis, specific gravity, SEM, TGA, sound and heat insulations, ultrasonic pulse, LOI (limiting oxygen index), and combustion characteristics] of all the insulation boards were studied. The average specific gravity value, weight loss determined by TGA, heat insulation ratio, heat conductivity coefficient, sound insulation ratio, ultrasonic transmission speed value, LOI values (for the wooden part + core and wooden part), and weight loss ratio found by the combustion test were 0.29 g/cm3, 90.40%, 51%, 0.045 W/mK, 24.03%, 0.46 mm/μs, (28 and 30.5), and 91.72%, respectively. As a result, the composite insulation board was observed to be better than the control board since it presented a higher specific gravity value, higher insulation ratio, lower heat conductivity coefficient, higher sound insulation ratio, lower ultrasonic transmission speed value, and better combustion characteristics with respect to the control board.