There is an increasing interest in using agricultural
fibers for building components, either to complement
or replace wood. This paper provides an overview of
how agricultural fibers alone or in combination with
wood fibers or other materials can be used for this
purpose. Fibrous materials that are most readily available
in North America include bagasse, cereal straw,
cornstalks, cotton stalks, kenaf, rice husks, and rice
straw. These fiber and material options are discussed,
and the performance of selected building products are
reviewed. For comparison purposes, the commercial
standards for particleboard and hardboard are used as
a baseline for comparing the performance of panels
made from selected agricultural fibers. Results presented
in this paper indicate that bagasse, cereal straw,
and kenaf appear to have the most promise for panel
and component development.
Introduction