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UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
PERMEABILITY AND MOISTURE DISTRIBUTION IN OIL PALM WOOD AND INFLUENCE ON DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR VENEER
MOISTURE REDUCTION
ADRIAN CHOO CHENG YONG.
IPTPH 2012 2
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PERMEABILITY AND MOISTURE DISTRIBUTION IN
OIL PALM WOOD AND INFLUENCE ON
DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR
VENEER MOISTURE REDUCTION
ADRIAN CHOO CHENG YONG
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
2012
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PERMEABILITY AND MOISTURE DISTRIBUTION IN OIL PALM WOOD
AND INFLUENCE ON DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR
VENEER MOISTURE REDUCTION
By
ADRIAN CHOO CHENG YONG
Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, in
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
February 2012
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To my beloved wife
Rachel Tan Choon Hui
My beloved parents
Choo Geok San & Maureen Tan Juat Khing
My beloved sister
Patrina Choo Mei Yin
Thank you for being the people I love the most
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Abstract of thesis presented to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia in fulfillment of
the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
PERMEABILITY AND MOISTURE CONTENT IN OIL PALM WOOD AND
INFLUENCE ON DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR VENEER
MOISTURE REDUCTION
By
ADRIAN CHOO CHENG YONG
FEBRUARY 2012
Chairman: Professor Paridah Md Tahir, PhD
Faculty: Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Science (INTROP)
In Malaysia, it is estimated that there is an excess of 14 million cubic meters of oil palm
stem available every year due to replanting. However, the large variation in density and
moisture content (MC) hinders a full utilization of the oil palm wood. In this study, an
investigation was conducted to determine the basic properties of the oil palm wood and
also the veneers that are derived from it. Permeability studies were also conducted on
the palm wood and its influence on moisture was examined. A method was also
developed to reduce the moisture content of oil palm veneers before they were subjected
to drying.
Oil palm trees were selected randomly from the species Elaeies guineensis Jacq from
Taman Pertanian Universiti located in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.
The water and gas permeability values were measured using two specific apparatus that
was set-up for the purpose of this study. The oil palm wood was segregated to outer,
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middle and inner sections and samples of different lengths were tested. Anatomical
studies were then carried out using an image analyzer to determine the maximum or
theoretical permeability. Veneers obtained from a plywood factory in Kedah were
examined for density and moisture content variations and its distribution throughout the
length of the stem. A specially designed and built machine (Malaysian Patent No: MY-
143318-A) was used to conduct a pre-drying process on green veneers and optimization
of pressing conditions on reducing the moisture content was carried out using the
Response Surface Method (RSM).
The permeability results showed that the oil palm wood is more permeable when it is
green compared to after it is dried. Shorter samples had a higher permeability value
compared to longer samples. Results showed that the different sections influenced both
the water and gas permeability values of the oil palm wood with the middle section
giving the highest values followed by the inner and outer sections respectively. The
maximum or theoretical permeability was consistently higher than the water and gas
permeability for all samples. The average permeability values for 5 cm samples were
23.29 darcies, 5.91 darcies and 0.96 darcies for the maximum or theoretical, water and
gas respectively.
The density of the oil palm veneers decreases as the veneers were peeled towards the
inner section of the stem while the inverse was true for MC. The outer veneers had an
average density of 0.337 g/cm3 compared to 0.272 g/cm
3 for the inner veneers. The
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veneers obtained from the top part of the stem had higher density values (0.318 g/cm3)
compared to veneers obtained from the bottom part of the stem (0.290 g/cm3). The inner
veneers had an average MC of 313.4 % while the outer veneers had an average MC of
229.0 %. There was not a significant difference in MC between veneers taken from the
bottom and top part of the stems.
Optimum conditions were obtained in the pre-drying process. They were feeding for two
passes, 82 kgf/cm2 pressure and 41.49 Hz roller speed for outer veneers and two passes,
77 kgf/cm2 pressure and 41.49 Hz roller speed for inner veneers. The expected response
was 17.62 % and 22.01 % MC reduction for outer and inner veneers respectively.
This study found that the different sections of the oil palm stem showed different
physical properties. The study suggests that the oil palm wood or veneers should be
segregated to outer and inner sections to maximize efficiency and to improve
homogeneity in various processes concerning it. The method of reducing moisture
content was proven to be successful and it can be utilized before the drying process to
lower drying time and cost.
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Abstrak thesis yang dikemukakan kepada Senat Universiti Putra Malaysia sebagai
memenuhi keperluan untuk ijazah Doktor Falsafah
KETELAPAN DAN TABURAN LEMBAPAN DI DALAM KAYU KELAPA
SAWIT DAN PENGARUHNYA TERHADAP PEMBANGUNAN SUATU
KAEDAH PENGURANGAN AIR DALAM VENIR
Oleh
ADRIAN CHOO CHENG YONG
FEBRUARI 2012
Pengerusi: Profesor Paridah Md Tahir, PhD
Faulti: Institut Perhutanan Tropika dan Produk Hutan (INTROP)
Terdapat anggaran 14 juta meter padu batang kelapa sawit yang boleh didapati setiap
tahun di Malaysia hasil daripada penanaman semula. Namun begitu, variasi yang tinggi
dalam ketumpatan dan kandungan air di dalam kelapa sawit menyebabkannya sukar
dimanfaatkan. Dalam kajian ini, siasatan dilakukan ke atas sifat-sifat asas kayu dan
venir kelapa sawit. Kajian ketelapan juga dilakukan ke atas kayu kelapa sawit dan
kesannya terhadap kandungan air turut dikaji. Suatu kaedah mengurangkan kandungan
air venir kelapa sawit sebelum ianya dikeringkan juga dibangunkan.
Beberapa batang kelapa sawit dari spesis Elaeies guineensis Jacq telah dipilih secara
rawak dari Taman Pertanian Universiti, Universiti Putra Malaysia yang terletak di
Serdang, Malaysia. Ketelapan air dan gas telah diukur menggunakan dua radas yang
dicipta khas untuk tujuan itu. Kayu kelapa sawit telah diasingkan kepada bahagian luar,
tengah dan dalam dan sampel dengan kepanjangan yang berbeza telah diuji. Penelitian
anatomi telah dilakukan dengan menggunakan penganalisis imej. Kajian ke ketumpatan
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dan kandungan air telah dilakukan ke atas venir yang diperolehi daripada sebuah kilang
papan lapis di Kedah. Satu mesin khas telah dicipta dan dibina untuk tujuan
menjalankan proses mengurangkan kandungan air di dalam venir basah sebelum venir
itu dikeringkan dan pengoptimaan telah dilakukan dengan menggunakan kaedah
permukaan gerak balas.
Kajian ketelapan air menujukkan bahawa sampel basah adalah lebih telap berbanding
dengan sampel kering. Sampel pendek juga memberikan nilai ketelapan yang lebih
tinggi berbanding dengan sampel panjang. Keputusan juga menunjukkan bahawa
bahagian yang berbeza di dalam kelapa sawit mempengaruhi nilai ketelapannya.
Bahagian tengah kelapa sawit memberikan nilai ketelapan yang tertinggi diikuti dengan
bahagian dalam dan bahagian luar. Purata nilai ketelapan untuk sampel yang berukuran
5 cm adalah 23.29 darcies untuk ketelapan maksima, 5.91 darcies untuk air dan 0.96
darcies untuk gas.
Ketumpatan venir kelapa sawit berkurangan apabila batang kelapa sawit itu dikupas ke
arah bahagian dalam. Sebaliknya, kandungan air meningkat apabila batang kelapa sawit
itu dikupas ke arah bahagian dalam. Venir dari bahagian luar mempunyai ketumpatan
purata sebanyak 0.337 g/cm3
berbanding dengan 0.272 g/cm3 untuk venir dari bahagian
dalam. Venir yang didapati dari bahagian atas betang kelapa sawit mempunyai nilai
ketumpatan yang lebih tinggi (0.318 g/cm3) berbanding dengan venir yang didapati dari
bahagian bawah batang kelapa sawit (0.290 g/cm3). Purata kandungan air di dalam venir
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kelapa sawit didapati bertambah apabila venir dikupas k arah bahagian dalam batang
kelapa sawit. Venir dari bahagian dalam mempunyai kandungan air purata sebanyak
313.4% manakala venir dari bahagian luar pula mempunyai kandungan air purata
sebanyak 229.0%. Tiada perbezaan nyata di antara kandungan air purata venir dari
bahagian bawah dan venir dari bahagian atas batang kelapa sawit.
Keadaan optima juga telah didapati untuk proses pra-pengeringan. Untuk venir dari
bahagian luar kelapa sawit, keadaannya adalah seperti berikut; 2 kali laluan, tekanan
sebanyak 82kgf/cm2 dan kelajuan penggelek 38.55Hz. Untuk venir dari bahagian dalam
pula, keadaannya adalah seperti berikut; 2 kali laluan, tekanan sebanyak 73kgf/cm2 dan
kelajuan penggelek 41.49Hz. Hasil yang dijangkakan adalah pengurangan kandungan ait
sebanyak 16.2% untuk venir dari bahagian luar dan 20.14% untuk venir dari bahagian
dalam.
Kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa bahagian berbeza dalam batang kelapa sawit
menunjukkan sifat-sifat fizikal yang berbeza. Dicadangkan bahawa kayu atau venir dari
batang kelapa sawit harus diasingkan kepada bahagian yang berbeza untuk
memaksimumkan kecekapan dan meningkatkan kehomogenan di dalam proses-proses
yang melibatkan penggunaannya. Kaedah untuk mengurangkan kandungan air juga
boleh digunakan sebelum proses pengeringan untuk mengurangkan kos dan masa
produksi.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for his love
for us all.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation for granting me the National Science Fellowship scholarship to conduct my
research.
I would like to say a big thank you to Professor Dr Paridah Md Tahir, my supervisor for
this thesis, without whom my research would not have been possible. I would also like
to thank her for all the guidance and encouragement that she has shown me throughout
the period of this research as a supervisor, a teacher and I hope as a friend. To my co-
supervisors, Professor Alinaghi Karimi, Associate Professor Dr Azmi Ibrahim,
Associate Professor Dr Edi Suhaimi Bakar and Associate Professor Dr Khalina Abdan, I
extend to you my warmest thanks for being patient and understanding and for providing
me invaluable guidance. I would like to also say thank you to Associate Professor Dr
Zaidon Ashaari for your willingness to spend some time to impart knowledge to me.
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I would also like to extend my appreciation to all the staff of the Faculty of Forestry and
the Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, especially Mr Azam, Mr Rizal,
Puan Halimah and Kak Lin for all their help during my study.
To my fellow researchers, Dr Loh Yueh Feng, Beng Hoong, Juliana and Balkis, I
sincerely appreciate all the help that you guys have given to me and I truly cherish our
friendship.
I am deeply indebted to my parents and my sister for being understanding and
supportive through the years. Last but not least, my deepest appreciation to my lovely
wife, Rachel Tan Choon Hui for always being there for me and encouraging me through
the trials I faced in completing this thesis. I dedicate this thesis to all of you.
Adrian
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I certify that an Examination Committee has met on 10 February 2012 to conduct the
final examination of ADRIAN CHOO CHENG YONG on his DOCTOR OF
PHILOSOPHY thesis entitled “PERMEABILITY AND MOISTURE CONTENT
IN OIL PALM WOOD AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF
AN EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR VENEER MOISTURE REDUCTION” in
accordance with Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Higher Degree) Act 1980 and Universiti
Pertanian Malaysia (Higher Degree) Regulations 1981. The Committee recommends
that the student be awarded the relevant degree.
Members of the Examination Committee were as follows:
Mohd Hamami bin Sahri, PhD
Professor
Faculty of Forestry
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(Chairman)
H’ng Paik San, PhD
Faculty of Forestry
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(Internal Examiner)
Luqman Chuah Abdullah, PhD
Professor
Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(Internal Examiner)
Martin A. Hubbe, PhD
Department of Forest Biomaterials
North Carolina State University
(External Examiner)
__________________________
SEOW HENG FONG, PhD Professor and Deputy Dean
School of Graduate Studies
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Date:
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This thesis was submitted to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia and has been
accepted as fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science. The
members of the Supervisory Committee were as follows
Paridah Md Tahir, PhD
Associate Professor
Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(Chairman)
Alinaghi Karimi, PhD
Professor
Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(Member)
Edi Suhaimi Bakar, PhD
Associate Professor
Faculty of Forestry
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(Member)
Khalina Abdan, PhD
Associate Professor
Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(Member)
Azmi Ibrahim, PhD
Associate Professor
Faculty of Civil Engineering
Universiti Teknologi MARA
(Member)
_____________________________
BUJANG BIN KIM HUAT. PhD Professor and Dean
School of Graduate Studies
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Date:
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DECLARATION
I declare that the thesis is my original work except for quotations and citations which
have been duly acknowledged. I also declare that it has not been previously, and is not
concurrently, submitted for any other degree at Universiti Putra Malaysia or at any other
institution.
___________________________
ADRIAN CHOO CHENG YONG
Date: 10 Februari 2012
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DEDICATION ii
ABSTRACT iii
ABSTRAK vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix
APPROVAL xi
DECLARATION xiii
LIST OF TABLES xvii
LIST OF FIGURES xix
LIST OF APPENDICES xxiii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxiv
CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 The Oil Palm Industry in Malaysia 1
1.2 Problem Statement 2
1.3 Objectives 4
2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5
2.1 The Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) 5
2.1.1 Botanical Description 5
2.1.2 Anatomical Characteristics of the Oil Palm Stem 7
2.1.3 Oil Palm Plantations in Malaysia 13
2.1.4 Oil Palm Stems 15
2.1.5 Limitations of the Oil Palm Wood 16
2.2 Wood-Moisture Relationships 20
2.2.1 Moisture Content 21
2.2.2 Permeability 24
2.2.3 Water Transport in the Oil Palm Stem 28
2.3 The Plywood Industry in Malaysia 29
2.3.1 Current Industry in Malaysia 30
2.3.2 Veneer Drying 31
2.3.3 Oil Palm Plywood 32
3 THE PERMEABILITY OF OIL PALM WOOD 35
3.1 Introduction 35
3.2 Theories for Wood Permeability 39
3.2.1 Darcy’s Law 39
3.2.2 Poiseuille’s Law of Viscous Flow 42
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3.3 Methodology 43
3.3.1 Materials 43
3.3.2 Water Permeability Apparatus 45
3.3.3 Calibration of the 3 Teflon Tubes 48
3.3.4 Gas Permeability Apparatus 49
3.3.5 Density and Moisture Content Measurements 54
3.3.6 Water Permeability Sampling and Measurements 55
3.3.7 Gas Permeability Sampling and Measurements 58
3.3.8 Anatomical Observations 61
3.3.9 Statistical Analysis 62
3.4 Results and Discussions 63
3.4.1 Volume in the Teflon Tubes 63
3.4.2 Density and Moisture Content 64
3.4.3 Water Permeability 65
3.4.4 Gas Permeability 69
3.4.5 Microscopic Observations of the Tested Samples 72
3.4.6 Schematic Model of Flow Conduction in Oil Palm Wood 81
3.4.7 Comparison between the Maximum or Theoretical, Water and Gas 82
Permeability Values and the Effect of Density and MC on
Permeability
3.5 Conclusions 85
4 DENSITY AND MOISTURE CONTENT (MC) PATTERN IN OIL PALM 87
VENEERS
4.1 Introduction 87
4.1.1 Drying of Oil Palm Veneers 88
4.2 Methodology 90
4.2.1 Preparation of Oil Palm Veneers 90
4.2.2 Sampling and Measurements 93
4.2.3 Size and Number of Vascular Bundles 94
4.3 Results and Discussions 95
4.3.1 Density Pattern 95
4.3.2 Moisture Content Pattern 100
4.3.3 Effect of Vascular Bundle Distribution and Size on Density and 102
MC Variation
4.4 Conclusions 105
5 DEVELOPMENT OF A ROLLER PRESS MACHINE FOR 106
REDUCING MOISTURE IN OIL PALM VENEERS
5.1 Introduction 106
5.1.1 Roller Press: A Method for Moisture Removal 107
5.2 Methodology 108
5.2.1 Veneer Preparation and Sampling 108
5.2.2 The Veneer Roller Press Machine 109
5.2.3 Experimental Design 117
5.2.4 Machine Trial Run 118
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5.2.5 Optimization of the Pre-Drying Process 119
5.2.6 Data Analysis 122
5.3 Results and Discussion 123
5.3.1 Machine Trial Run 123
5.3.2 Model Fitting 124
5.3.3 Final Moisture Content 127
5.3.4 Moisture Content Reduction 128
5.3.5 Thickness and Density of Veneers 134
5.4 Conclusions 135
6 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 137
FUTURE RESEARCH
6.1 Conclusions 137
6.1.1 Permeability of Oil Palm Wood 138
6.1.2 Density and Moisture Content Patterns in Oil Palm Veneers 139
6.1.3 Pre-Drying Treatment of Oil Palm Stem Veneers 140
6.2 Recommendations 142
6.2.1 Improving the various processes involving oil palm wood 142
REFERENCES 143
APPENDICES 153
BIODATA OF STUDENT 168
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 169