Research Articles

Wet-formed particleboard panels were made using cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) as the bonding material. The effects of panel density, CNF addition ratio, particle size, and pressing method on the nail and face screw withdrawal strength, water absorption (WA), and thickness swelling (TS) were investigated. The nail and face screw withdrawal strength increased with an increased panel density and CNF addition ratio. Mixed-size particles were favorable for better face screw withdrawal strength. The WA decreased while TS increased with increased panel density. The WA decreased with increased CNF addition ratio. The effect of CNF addition ratio on the TS was influenced by an interaction effect of the particle size, density, and pressing method. Smaller wood particles and the constant thickness (CT) pressing method were better for both WA and TS performance. All of the high- and medium-density panels failed to satisfy the standard requirements for face screw withdrawal strength. For low-density panels, those manufactured with mixed-sized particles all satisfied the standard requirements; those manufactured with large particles required at least 15% CNF to meet the standard, and those manufactured with small particles required at least 20% CNF to achieve the standard requirements. None of the panels met the standard TS requirement (< 8%).

With the continuously increasing demand for paper and cardboard products, there is growing concern about the bacteria of the papermaking process. Bacterial growth not only affects normal manufacturing, but it also results in paper products with a total number of bacteria that exceeds the acceptable range, and thus poses a risk to the health of consumers. In this study, 99 pure bacterial strains were isolated from old corrugated containers (OCC) slime. The morphological, physiological, and biochemical properties of the bacterial strains were examined. Furthermore, the isolated strains were tested for their ability to form biofilms. The strains that could form biofilms were identified using 16S rDNA sequencing. The results revealed that some bacteria could form both a biofilm that adhered to the smooth tube wall, as well as abundant flocs at the bottom of the test tube. Conversely, the other bacteria could not form a noticeable biofilm. The bacteria with the most powerful biofilm-forming ability were identified as Proteus penneri, Klebsiella variicola, Klebsiella sp., and Proteus mirabilis.

Bagasse was pretreated by pectinase, and both the control and pretreated bagasse were subjected to soda-anthraquinone (AQ) pulping. There were significant improvements in pulp properties after pectinase treatment, such as relative increases of brightness (5.5%), breaking length (17.1%), burst factor (16.5%), and tear factor (7.0%). The samples were analyzed by a fiber analyzer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The pectinase treatment changed the material properties, which would improve the efficiency of subsequent pulping, such as increasing the fiber length (20.0%), lowering the fines length (10.6%), and increasing the percentage of flexible fiber. Pectinase treatment removed some non-cellulose components; in particular, the pectin and alcohol-benzene extractives were decreased by 19.4% and 37.3% after enzymatic treatment. The hemicellulose and lignin were decreased by 5.5% and 1.9%, respectively. A bulkier and more collapsed fiber surface was observed in the treated fibers, which suggested greater pore volume and more accessible surface area. Treatment caused a slight incline by 4.8% in the crystallinity index. Some chemical structures in pectin, hemicellulose, and lignin were partly broken, showing the effect of pectinase treatment on the degradation of non-cellulose components. Pectinase treatment prior to pulping is therefore recommended, given its efficiency and eco-friendly nature.

A mild and successive method was proposed and evaluated for fractionating lignin samples from Eucalyptus globulus. The extraction efficiency and structural features of the extracted lignin samples were comprehensively investigated by a yields analysis, 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C-NMR, and two-dimensional heteronuclear single quantum coherence (2D-HSQC) NMR. The catalyzed ethanol systems consisting of ethanol, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), formic acid, and distilled water were effective for extracting lignin from Eucalyptus globulus, and the yield of lignin was 75.2% when the extraction process was held at 145 °C for 180 min. Compared with that of the milled wood lignin (MWL), the NMR spectra of the extracted lignin fractions supported the destruction of β-O-4 units for the disappearance of Hα signals. Moreover, the striking characteristics of the extracted lignin were the destruction of ether bonds of S3,5 and the condensation of syringyl (S) and guaiacyl (G) units. In short, lignin fractions with relatively complete structures were effectively extracted with the catalyzed ethanol systems.

The preparation of bleached pulp from Eucalyptus globulus pulp was evaluated after utilizing chlorine dioxide (ClO2) with or without microwave irradiation. The three ClO2-bleaching processes examined were water-bath heating; microwave heating; and microwave pretreatment combined with water-bath heating. These processes were applied to eucalypt pulps that were oxygen-delignified. The effects of the treatments on the levels of lipophilic extractives and properties of the resulting pulps were compared with one another. The microwave-induced treatment had a remarkable effect, leading to an increase in pulp brightness and a decrease in lipophilic extractives when compared with the control (i.e., A). The sample under the condition of microwave pretreatment combined with water-bath heating achieved a higher brightness and reduced lipophilic extractives, which were increased by 45.8% and reduced by 37.4%, respectively. This study demonstrated an effective microwave-pretreated method in ClO2 bleaching process, which provides a promising route for alleviating pitch deposition problems occurring during pulp manufacture.

Carnauba wax is a natural material with high hydrophobicity. In this study, molten carnauba wax was stably self-emulsified in ethanol without using additional emulsifiers. Hydrophobic titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were dispersed into carnauba wax-ethanol emulsion to form a composite coating on filter paper. The results showed that immersion in the composite coating that contained wax and hydrophobic TiO2 conveyed to filter paper good hydrophobicity (water contact angle over 140°) and stability against acid or alkali solution. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicated the presence of micro bead/flake structures on the surface of filter paper. These obtained filter papers could effectively expel water from a water/diesel mixture. The water content in the water/diesel mixture decreased from 10% to 0.01% through the separation from the filter paper.

Mechanical characteristics were evaluated of wood-bamboo-based particleboard having the proportions of 100% wood and 0% bamboo, 75% wood and 25% bamboo, and 50% wood and 50% bamboo. This particleboard used Eucalyptus urophylla × grandis wood, Dendrocalamus asper bamboo, and castor oil-based polyurethane resin. Through destructive testing, the values of perpendicular tensile, static bending, modulus of elasticity, and screw pullout strength in the top and face surfaces were analyzed. For 0%, 25%, and 50% bamboo the values were 1.68 MPa, 1.37 MPa, and 1.4 MPa, respectively, for perpendicular tensile; 15.2 MPa, 17.6 MPa, and 18.5 MPa, respectively, for static bending; 2466 MPa, 2694 MPa, and 2922 MPa, respectively, for modulus of elasticity; 1256 MPa, 1922 MPa, and 1362 MPa, respectively, for screw pullout strength in top; and 1392 MPa, 1342 MPa, and 1414 MPa, respectively, for screw pullout strength in face. These results were superior to those presented by ABNT NBR 14810 (2013) and ANSI 208.1 (1999). After performing a Tukey test at 5%, the values for each treatment did not show a significant difference among them.

Corn stalk enzymatically hydrolyzed lignin (EHL) was used to modify bisphenol A-type epoxy resin. The curing reaction processes of the epoxy resin/polyamine blends and the lignin/epoxy resin/polyamine blends were studied via isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the effect of enzymatically hydrolyzed lignin on the curing reaction of epoxy resin was also analyzed. The results showed that the curing kinetics for two blends were not in full compliance with the autocatalytic curing kinetic model, especially the lignin/epoxy resin/polyamine blends. The apparent activation energy of the epoxy resin/polyamine blends increased with the increased presence of the lignin. The presence of enzymatically hydrolyzed lignin was beneficial to the curing process of epoxy resin/polyamine blends at high temperatures. The addition of the lignin increased the final curing reaction conversion rate, improved the glass transition temperature (Tg) and increased the bending strength for the epoxy resin/polyamine blends. However, the impact strength decreased in this process.

The synthesis of bio-based chemicals, such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and its derivatives, from cellulosic biomass resources has been attempted for years. However, the harsh reaction condition, toxicity of the catalysts applied, and low efficiency of the conversion process have deterred its industrial implementation. Herein, the authors investigated the degradation and conversion of cellulose into HMF in a concentrated zinc chloride solution. The effects of reaction conditions and co-catalysts on the conversion were evaluated. A 69.5% HMF yield from cellulose was obtained in the condition of 1 h and 150 °C using 0.2 mol·L-1 of HCl without co-catalyst during the conversion. Moreover, the ZnCl2 aqueous solution displayed good reusability. Finally, a simplified kinetic model of the conversion of cellulose to HMF in a concentrated zinc chloride solution was developed, and the reaction kinetics were investigated.

The effect of fiber orientation was studied relative to the static and dynamic properties of sisal/polyester composites. Different composites were developed using the compression moulding technique with the aid of a specially designed mould. Composite laminates were formulated by stacking a number of fiber lamina with different orientations such as 90º/0º /90º, 0º /90º /0º, 90º /0º /0º /90º, 0º /45º /0º, 0º /90º /45º /45º /90º /0º, and 0º /45º /90º /90º /45º /0º. In general, the performance of static and dynamic characteristics was found to be significantly influenced by the effect of interlaminar fiber orientation. Experimental results exhibited a higher flexural strength of 68 MPa and an impact strength of 320 J/m in the case of 0º /90º /45º /45º /90º /0º oriented composites. Dynamic characteristics such as natural frequency and damping were found to be higher in the case of 0º /45º /0º and 0º /90º /0º, respectively. Morphological analysis was performed for understanding the interlaminar orientation and failure mechanisms between the fiber and the matrix.