*Article* **Performance of Citric Acid-Bonded Oriented Board from Modified Fibrovascular Bundle of Salacca (***Salacca zalacca* **(Gaertn.) Voss) Frond**

**Luthfi Hakim 1,2,\* , Ragil Widyorini <sup>3</sup> , Widyanto Dwi Nugroho <sup>3</sup> and Tibertius Agus Prayitno <sup>3</sup>**


**Abstract:** The fibrovascular bundle (FVB) in palm plants consists of fiber and vascular tissue. Geometrically, it is a long fiber that can be used as an oriented board raw material. This research aimed to examine the performance of citric acid-bonded orientation boards from modified FVB salacca frond under NaOH + Na2SO3 treatment and the bonding mechanism between the modified FVB frond and citric acid. The results showed that changes in the chemical composition of FVB have a positive effect on the contact angle and increase the cellulose crystallinity index. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the oriented board showed that 1% NaOH + 0.2% Na2SO3 with 60 min immersion has a higher value compared to other treatments. The best dimension stability was on a board with the modified FVB of 1% NaOH + 0.2% Na2SO3 with 30 and 60 min immersion. The bonding mechanism evaluated by FTIR spectra also showed that there is a reaction between the hydroxyl group in the modified FVB and the carboxyl group in citric acid. This showed that the modified combination treatment of NaOH+Na2SO3 succeeded in increasing the mechanical properties and dimensional stability of the orientation board from the FVB salacca frond.

**Keywords:** fibrovascular bundle; salacca frond; modified orientation board; citric acid
