Chapter II

THEORETHICAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter presents relevant theories, related literature, related studies,

conceptual framework, and hypothesis of the study and definition of terms/ variables.

Relative Theories

This part of the chapter contains summary of the theories relevant to the current

study. It serves as a guide for further understanding about the strength of materials, heat

transfer which will become an important consideration in fabricating the Fire Retardant

Fish bone Particle Board.

Heat Transfer

Heat transfer is the movement of heat from one body to another by means of

conduction, convection or radiation. It is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns

the generation, use, conservation and exchange of thermal energy and heat between

physical systems. Heat transfer analysis was developed from the thermodynamic laws of

conversion of mass and energy, the second law of thermodynamics, and three rate

equations describing conduction, convection, and radiation. The rate equations were

developed from the observation of physical phenomena of energy exchange. In the study,

the researchers focused on the heat that flows in the air or open fires.

Convection is the heat transfer due to bulk movements of molecules within fluids

such as gases and liquids. One of the most common examples of this principle is the
transfer of heat that flows through air to the body of an object. It is used to determine the

total heat transmitted to the object through air using the convective heat transfer formula:

Q = hA(T2 – T1)

Where:

Q = heat transferred per unit time

h = heat transfer coefficient

T1 = object’s surface temperature

T2 = fluid’s temperature

Heat convection occurs as hot, rapidly moving or vibrating atoms and molecules

interact to the fluid’s atoms and molecules, transferring some of their heat energy to the

top until it reaches a body that will receive the heat. This theory helped the researchers on

understanding the concept of thermal conductivity and thermal resistance which are

important factors on producing fire retardant particle board.

Strength of Materials

Strength of materials is the ability to withstand an amount of load without failure.

If a load is applied within a material, internal forces called stress will resist the

deformation, also called as strain. The stress and strain that develops within a material

must be determined in order to assess the load capacity of the material to prevent failure.
 Stress is a physical quantity that expresses the internal forces that neighboring

particles of a continuous material exert on each other. Stress occurs in any material that is

subjected to a load or any applied force. Stress is mainly classified into three types:

tensile, compressive and shear stress. The stress is considered as tensile, if the force is

perpendicular to the area of the application and is moving away from it, and tends to pull

it apart or to elongate. Compressive stress is the stress that results from the shortening in

one direction of an elastic body due to oppositely directed force and tends to crush the

material. Finally shear stress occurs when the external force acting on an object or

surface parallel to the plane in which it lies and tends to produce shear.

As for the boards will be installed in the ceiling of the house, it experience

compressive stress due to the applied load it supports. If the particle board cannot support

the load that is put on the top of it, the material would crack. As time passes, this crack

will continue to grow and it will finally break. This theory determined the limitations of

the application of the load.

Industrial Processes

Industrial processes are procedures involving chemical, physical, electrical or

mechanical steps to aid in the manufacturing of an item. There are many types of

industrial processes. Separation, material reduction, heat processes and molding are few

among the processes that are being used in the industry. Separation process is a method

to a mixture of substance into two or more distinct products. Material reduction is a

process in which particles of desired size are separated from other fractions. Heat process
is defined as subjecting a particle to higher than normal temperature to attain desired

properties. Finally, molding is a process that shapes raw material using a rigid frame

called mold.

Drying occurs as a result of the evaporation of liquid by applying heat. Drying is

categorized into direct convection, indirect conduction and dielectric. Drying is one

process under heating process. Heat passes through to material to evaporate liquid, and

mass is transferred as a vapor in the surrounding gas. The rate of drying is determined by

the set of factors that affect heat and mass transfer. Convective drying is a drying process

in which a fluid or gas is used to apply heat to the substance. Natural drying is done by

exposing materials to the air under the sun for a period of time.

The theory of industrial process especially the drying process was used by the

researchers for treating the fish bones, which is the main material of this project. Drying

was used in preparation of the raw material and in the curing of the final project. Natural

and conductive drying were used for this research.

Related Literature

Thermal resistance is a property of a material to resist heat flow. The

measurement of thermal resistivity of an object depends on its composition or on how it

is made. Some materials that have low thermal resistivity are woods, plastics and other

lightweight materials that are commonly found on low-cost houses made by informal

settlers. Modification of this heat property for the purpose of insulation can be done by

altering the composition of the material.

 Calcium carbonate is a substance that is commonly used as filler for fire retardant

materials. This substance is found on bone fractions of animals such as in fish bones, etc.

Because of its availability and abundance in nature, it is widely used as a component for

materials to increase its thermal resistivity. Aside from this property, calcium carbonate is

also used as an additive in a material to increase mechanical properties like stiffness

(rigidity) and impact strength.

Saw dust, a fine particles produced by machining, woodworking and other

processes, have a variety of practical uses. It is recycled and used as a binder in materials.

Combining saw dust with a filler additive, it can produce a solid material like plywood,

gypsum board, particle board etc.

Related Studies

Studies on Properties of Egg shell and Fish Bone Powder Filled Polypropylene

from the American Journal of Polymer Science published on 2012 by Isaac O. Igwe and

Genevive C. Onuegbu [1]. The work describes and assesses the fish bone in its mechanical

properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength, and flame propagation. The said

properties were tested and compared to talc, which is the commonly used filler,by

making a polypropylene composite of fish bone and undergo series of tests. This study

was used by the researchers to suggest fish bone as a raw material to process fire

retardant particle board.

 In this work, they concluded that the fish bone can have a satisfactory flame

propagation rate based on its chemical composition and actual test done by Igwe and

Onuegbu.

The polypropylene used in this study was obtained from Eleme Petrochemical

Company Limited, Rivers State, Nigeria. It has a melt flow index of 2.5 to 3.5 g/min, and

density, 0.926 g/cm3. The fish bones were collected locally within Owerri Metropolis,

Imo State, Nigeria. These materials were properly treated to remove impurities before

they were crushed and sieved to three particles sizes namely, 0.150, 0.30, and 0.42 µm.

Talc, which was used as the reference filler was purchased from a local store at Owerri,

Imo State, Nigeria.

They reported that the tensile strength of polypropylene withfish bone is better

than with talc as filler. The tensile strength of 0.15 μm of fish bone composite is 70 MPa

which is much greater than 40 MPa in Talc polypropylene composite.

The experimental data on the flexural strength of polypropylene composites are

illustrated graphically in Figure 1. It is evident that at any particle size of the fillers

considered, the flexural strength of the composites increased with increase in filler

contents. Figure 1 also shows a general decrease of flexural strength of the composites as

the particle size of the fillers increased from 0.150 to 0.420 µm. Similar decrease in

material property with increase in filler particle size was also observed for the tensile

strength and tensile modulus of the composites.

Figure 1. Plot of Flexural Strength versus Weight of Filler of Polypropylene Composites
at different Filler Particle Sizes. FBP (Fish bone Particle), ESP (Egg shell particle)

Figure 2 shows that the rate of burning of the compositesat any given filler

particle size decreased with increase in filler contents. The burning behavior of

polypropylene, a thermoplastic, involves shrinkage and often, melting when subjected to

heat. Both melting and shrinkage have the effect of reducing the apparent flammability of

polypropylene. On approaching the ignition source, polypropylene shrinks, and even,

drips away from the flame. This behavior ensures energy removal, decrease in surface

area exposed, and hence, reduction in oxygen accessibility. The present flame retardant

property of fish bone powder filler investigated could be attributed also to their calcium

carbonate contents among the other factors.

Figure 2. Plot of Flame Propagation versus Weight of Filler of Polypropylene
Composites at different Filler Particle Sizes. FBP (Fish bone Particle), ESP (Egg shell
particle)

Both fish bone, and egg shell contain calcium carbonate (CaCO3). On the

application of heat/flame, calcium carbonate decomposes according to the equation,

CaCO3 CaO + CO2

With the evolution of carbon dioxide (CO2) which does notsupport combustion.

The more the fillers are incorporated into polypropylene, the more the quantity of CaCO3

in the composites, and the less, the tendency of the composites to burn since CO2 is a

good fire extinguisher.

This review identified the properties of the fish bone that is comparable to other

fire retardant materials. Its tensile strength, flexural strength and fire resistivity are proofs

that fish bone has a great potential as a raw material to production of fire retardant

material.

In a study conducted by Malde M.K. (2010), fishbone as a material can be well

suitable as a natural source of calcium carbonate and phosphorous. The calcium

carbonate nanoparticle has a chemical mode of action as a flame retardant. (Sarang

Deodhar, 2010)

Another study was conducted by Levchik & Weil (2006) states that any product

generally containing phosphorus such as metal salts of dialkylphosphonic acid and

calcium hypophosphite could be used as fire retardant. Phosphorus is one of the elements
used in commercial fire retardants but it undergoes complex processes and is combined to

other harmful chemicals before the product was manufactured.

Fishes are one of the living organisms that containphosphorus; it is commonly

present on food especially in animal tissues (Haas, 2003). Due to the presence of

phosphorus in fishes, fish bones could be an advisable material for making a fire

retardant particle board.

This conclusion was also proven by a study conducted by G.W. Cook (1955). He

concluded that ashes of sewage sludge still contains high amount of phosphorus. Since

fishbone contains phosphorus, it also implies that once fishbone is turned into ash, it still

contains phosphorus.

Due to this studies and researches, the proponents formulated a plan in making a

fire retardant particle board using calcium carbonate and phosphorus present in the ashes

of fish bones. These ashes will be combined with cornstarch which will serve as the

binder. Since all ingredients in the solution are organic, it will not provide harm to users.

Another thing is the proponents use fish bones which will not affect the environment

since fish bones were not eaten by humans and are often thrown away.
Conceptual Framework

Input Process Output

1. Conceptualization of the

Infoware project
2. Layout and design of the
 Heat Transfer
project
 Strength of
3. Gathering of
Materials
information and data
 Industrial
and raw materials.
Processes
4. Processing of raw
Technoware materials
 Soaking
 Binder
 Boiling
 Mortar and
 Natural drying Fire Retardant Fish
Pestle
 Shredding Bone Particle Board
 Improvised
5. Fabrication
oven
 Mixing of binder
 Metal Molder
 Mixing of additives
 Presser
 Molding
 Measuring
 Heating & pressing
tools
6. Finishing
Humanware 7. Testing

 Skilled  Thermal

workers conductivity
 Water absorption
 Tensile and
compressive strength
Hypothesis of the study

The FRFBPB will be acceptable to the end users considering that variables such

as functionality, efficiency, and reliability will be tested at the end of this project study

for acceptance or rejection.

Definition of terms/variables

1. Fire retardant fishbone particle board – a board primarily composed of fishbone

and sawdust, which is used to lower its thermal conductivity compared to the

existing plywood.

2. Infoware- refers to the application of facts or theories from documented source

like journals, design, books, manuals, etc. which helps someone to have a quick

learning.

3. Technoware- refers to the application of tool and equipment, devices or machines

which enable us to make, design or transform materials to desired output by series

of operations.

4. Humanware – refers to the abilities, skills and knowledge of mankind which will

lead to the transformation and utilization of natural resources to useful output or

to improve technology.

5. Polythene sheet – is a plastic made of petroleum. Its usage depends upon its

thickness. It is commonly used as plastic bags, tarpaulins and in flooring

(linoleum).
6. Corrugated iron sheet – a type of galvanized steel or iron commonly used in

construction and roof on houses.

7. Palochina wood – is a thick wood commonly used in furniture.

8. Plywood – is a strong thin wood made by series of glued boards commonly used

in construction and building materials.

9. Tensile strength –it is the measurement of how a material resist under tension. It

is also the maximum amount of tensile stress that the material can withstand

before it breaks.

10. Flexural strength – it is also measures the maximum amount of stress a material

can withstand it is bent. It is also called bending strength.

11. Flame propagation – it refers to the spread of a flame around the material when

the combustion or fire has started.

12. Talc – is a soft mineral came from rock deposits and it is commonly used

substances such as baby powder, cornstarch, etc.

13. Filler – it refers to the substance used to add in materials because it has similar

properties and usually used to lower the consumption of that material.

14. Binder – it refers to the substance that holds the components to form a cohesive

material.

15. Polypropylene – it is a thermoplastic polymer and its usage depends upon its

form. It is commonly used in plastic parts, packaging labels, etc.

16. Particle Board – is a low density board mainly composed of wood parts. It is

commonly used as a substitute for plywood.

17. Tensile Modulus – it refers to the tendency of a material to distort or bend when

there is an application of opposing forces.

18. Dialkylphosphonic acid – it is a substance used as a cleaning agent for the

purification of metals.

19. Calcium hypophosphite – it is commonly used as a food additive to fortify foods

on animals and in poultry industry.

20. Shredding – it refers to the process of cutting or tearing a material into smaller

pieces.

21. Thermal conductivity – it refers to the absorption of heat by a material. The

measurement of thermal conductivity depends on the composition of the material.

It is expressed by amount of heat absorbed per unit time per unit area.

22. Flammability – refers to the ability of a material to burn or ignite.

Notes in Chapter II

Igwe, I.O., & Onuegbu, G. C. (2012). Studies on Properties of Egg Shell and Fish Bone
Powder. American Journal of Polymer Science, 56-61

Malde, M. (2010, October). PUBMED.gov. Retrieved from National Center for

Biotechnology Information: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20487094

Sergei V. Levchik, E. D. (2016, September). A Review of Recent Progress in

Phosphorus-based Flame Retardants. Retrieved from journals.sagepub:
http://journals.sagepub.com
Cook, G.W. (1995, February). The value of sewage-sludge ashes as phosphorus
fertilizers. Retrieved from Wiley online Library:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsfa.2740060203/abstract

Yang, L. D. (2013, May 14). Preparation and Properties of Cornstarch Adhesives.

Retrieved from http://maxwellsci.com: http://maxwellsci.com/print/ajfst/v5-1068-
1072.pdf

Alteros, Ilaga, Gallardo, Manigas ,Ricarfort. (2017). Corn Cob Insulation Board.
Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines