The use of natural fibers or particles as alternative raw materials for particleboard production is essential due to the shrinking forest area. Currently, dung waste from the Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is being used as a raw material for particleboard due to its high fiber content. Although the product still has inferior mechanical and physical characteristics, it can be improved by layering bamboo. Therefore, this study aimed to enhance the mechanical and physical qualities of elephant dung particleboard by adding layers of bamboo. The particleboard constructed had three layers; namely, the face and back in the form of a bamboo layers, as well as the core, which was in the form of elephant dung. The elephant dung was evenly mixed with isocyanate adhesive using a spray gun, and the bamboo layers were coated with adhesive on one side of the surface. The sample was subjected to a hot press at a temperature of 150 °C and 30 kg/cm2 pressure for 10 min. Generally, JIS A 5908-2003 is the specification used to test the physical and mechanical properties of particleboard. During the experiment, the characteristics examined include density, moisture content, water absorption, thickness swelling, modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture, and internal bonding, which were enhanced by using layers of bamboo. The results showed that the physical properties of the particleboard with bamboo layers were a density of 0.62-0.69 g/cm3, a moisture content of 7.87-10.35%, water absorption of 38.27-68.58%, and a thickness swelling of 10.87-30.00%, which met the minimum standards of JIS A 5908-2003. The mechanical characteristics had values for the modulus of elasticity of 1952-7282 MPa, the modulus of rupture of 20.44-68.27 MPa, and the internal bonding of 0.16-0.38 MPa, which met the JIS A 5908-2003 standard. Based on these results, the particleboard with Belangke bamboo layers was the best in this study.
Keywords: bamboo; elephant dung; layering; particleboard.