ABSTRACT
In this work, gypsum bonded particleboards were manufactured using recycled paper (newspaper and offset) and pine wood particles. In all treatments the ratio wood/gypsum was kept in 0.25 (ovendry base) and two water content (w) were employed: 0.4 and 0.8, corresponding to the water/gypsum ratio. The boards were cold pressed in laboratory in a process similar to the conventional particlebo ard fabrication. Then, they were tested in static bending, hardness, screw withdrawal and thickness swelling. In general, the addition of fibers improved the board properties. Significant differences were found for some of the treatments for static bending strength, hardness and screw withdrawal, while the inclusion of paper recycled fibers with w = 0,4 did not show differences for water absorption and thickness swelling, when compared to conventional gypsum boards. The best results were obtained when newspaper type recyclable fibers were introduced, with w = 0,4.
Key words:
gypsum particleboard; pine wood; recycled paper