Development of flame retarded composite fibreboard for building applications using oil palm residue

Residential housing is a critical aspect of human living and in developing countries this is a mirage due to high cost of building materials. In order to meet the needs for affordable housing with low cost materials as well as meet required fire safety standards, this research developed flame retarded fibreboards with oil palm residue reinforced in polyester resin, incorporating 0, 12 and 18% flame retardant loading using hand lay-up compression moulding. The fibreboards were tested for impact, thermal and flammability properties. Based on experiments, it was found that 12% aluminum tri-hydroxide fibreboard meets the impact and thermal limitations while the 18% hybrid formulation meets the required fire safety standard for building interior applications which will benefit rural dwellers in Nigeria and in similar climes around the world seeking to substitute conventional materials with the advantage of low cost, easy to process, biodegradable, environmentally benign and flame retarded composite material.