Agricultural and Industrial Valorization of Arundo donax L.

Some agricultural and industrial characteristics of different parts of the giant reed (Arundo donax L.) were studied in this work to evaluate their capacity as growing media and for the manufacturing of the insulating board employed in the building sector. Three different particle sizes (>0.25, 1–2, and 2–4 mm) of the stem and rhizome of Arundo donax L. (SAD and RAD, respectively) were evaluated on bulk density (BD), total pore space (TPS), air capacity, easily available water (EAW), water buffering capacity (WBC), total water-holding capacity (TWHC), shrinkage, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and macro- and microelements. Moreover, density, bending strength, internal bond strength, screw-holding strength, and thermal conductivity were determined in boards manufactured with three different particle sizes (>0.25, 1–2, and 2–4 mm) of the stem of Arundo donax. The manufacturing conditions of these boards were three different press pressures (15.7, 21.0, and 26.0 kg cm−2) and two press temper...