Phenolic resins are thermosetting polymers that are formed from the condensation of petroleum-based phenol and formaldehyde. This resin is mostly utilized in wood industry due to their high bonding strength, chemical stability, heat resistance and water resistance. However due to the fluctuation of oil price, the price of phenol is also affected which constrained the application of PF resin. Lignocellulose biomass seems like a great replacement as it has quite similar structure as the commercial PF resin. Hence, the aim of this study is to produce and characterize the highest yield of bio-oil gained from catalytic and non-catalytic pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse. The conditions for synthesizing bio-based phenolic resin are determined from the optimization process of Phenol Formaldehyde (PF) resin using one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) method. The optimum condition was determined by comparing the effect of the manipulating variables such as F/P molar ratio, time and catalyst ratio on the physical properties and mechanical strength of the PF resin. The identified optimum conditions for synthesis of PF resin were applied in the production of bio-based phenolic resin where bio-oil at different weight ratios (10, 20, 30, and 40 wt.%) were mixed with the commercial PF resin. The effect of substitution rate on the properties and mechanical strength of the BPF resin is determined based on the comparison with the Chinese National Standard (GB/T14732-2006) data for PF resin. This standard was chosen due to the plywood standard size was compatible to be done using the Universal Testing Machine. The results shows that highest yield of bio-oil was gained from catalytic pyrolysis at temperature of 500ᵒC which was 21.4 wt%. Physiochemical characterizations of the bio oil shows bio-oil has potential to be used as adhesive. The optimum condition to synthesize phenol formaldehyde resin is at F/P molar ratio of (2.0), time (3 hour), and NaOH/P molar ratio of (0.6). The results of bio-based phenolic resins bonding performance shows that the level of bio-oil substitution up to 20% at most provide a good performance and comparable to the Chinese National Standard PF resin. This study was carried out considering there were not much studies focusing on the production of bio-based adhesive using bio-oil extracted from sugarcane bagasse. Overall, findings show that bio-oil extracted from sugarcane bagasse has a potential to be used as bio- based adhesive.
