Review Articles

Both reversible and irreversible changes take place as cellulosic fibers are manufactured into paper products one or more times. This review considers both physical and chemical changes. It is proposed that by understanding these changes one can make better use of cellulosic fibers at various stages of their life cycles, achieving a broad range of paper performance characteristics. Some of the changes that occur as a result of recycling are inherent to the fibers themselves. Other changes may result from the presence of various contaminants associated with the fibers as a result of manufacturing processes and uses. The former category includes an expected loss of swelling ability and decreased wet-flexibility, especially after kraft fibers are dried. The latter category includes effects of inks, de-inking agents, stickies, and additives used during previous cycles of papermaking.

The occurrence of cracks and loss of mechanical properties are major problems in wood drying, and careful control of drying conditions is necessary in order to avoid this form of defects. Wood drying at different temperatures, especially high temperatures, has gained much interest in the last several decades. Some solutions for minimizing drying defects, such as cracks and decrease of mechanical properties due to the increase of drying rates, decrease of drying time and thus cost, must be acknowledged and understood. The present review tries to summarize the influence of temperature during kiln drying on the mechanical properties of wood and on the occurrence of cracks.

South America has substantial potential to expand its forest plantations and raw material supply. From 1997 to 2005, South America had a high annual growth rate in the production of industrial roundwood, with Brazil and Chile being the most important countries. In the same period, Asia had the only negative regional production growth rate in the world, and China became the largest round wood importer in the world. This paper summarizes the status of production, consumption, imports, and exports of industrial roundwood and forest products in South America. Produc-tion and exports from South America have continually increased at annual growth rates exceeding the forestry sector in general and the U.S. in particular. Based on timber growing investments to date, a strong timber production and forest products manufacturing sector has developed in the Southern Cone countries of Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, and is increasing in other countries in Latin America. There will be continued opportunities for forest plantations and new manufacturing facilities throughout South America, tempered somewhat by perceived country financial and political risks. These opportunities will allow South America to increase its share of world production and increase imports to North America and to Asia. PDF

Energy and environmental issues are among the major concerns facing the global community today. Transportation fuel represents a large proportion of energy consumption, not only in the US, but also world-wide. As fossil fuel is being depleted, new substitutes are needed to provide energy. Ethanol, which has been produced mainly from the fermentation of corn starch in the US, has been regarded as one of the main liquid transportation fuels that can take the place of fossil fuel. However, limitations in the supply of starch are creating a need for different substrates. Forest biomass is believed to be one of the most abundant sources of sugars, although much research has been reported on herbaceous grass, agricultural residue, and municipal waste. The use of biomass sugars entails pretreatment to disrupt the lignin-carbohydrate complex and expose carbohydrates to enzymes. This paper reviews pretreatment technologies from the perspective of their potential use with wood, bark, and forest residues. Acetic acid catalysis is suggested for the first time to be used in steam explosion pretreatment. Its pretreat-ment economics, as well as that for ammonia fiber explosion pretreatment, is estimated. This analysis suggests that both are promising techniques worthy of further exploration or optimization for commercialization.

The use of ionic liquids (ILs) in the field of cellulose chemistry opens up a broad variety of new opportunities. Besides the regeneration of the biopolymer to fibers, films, and beads, this new class of cellulose solvents is particularly useful for the homogeneous chemical modification of the polysaccharide. In this review, the potential of ILs as a reaction medium for the homogeneous cellulose functionalization is discussed. It is shown that numerous conversions proceed very efficiently and the ILs may be recycled. But it is also demonstrated that some side reactions have to be considered.

Over the last years promising cement bonded wood composites for structural purposes have evolved. Durability, toughness, high dimen-sional stability, resistance against environmental influences such as biodegradation or weathering but also availability of the raw material as well as economic factors are features which can make cement-bonded composites superior to conventionally bonded composites. This paper reviews the relationship of diverse parameters, including density and particle size on mechanical and physical properties of cement bonded composites, based on published sources from the last 60 years. For general and recent information about bonding mechanisms, compatibility and setting problems, determination and improvement of compatibility, the used raw materials as well as accelerators are discussed. The main part deals with failure mechanisms in connection with several production parameters. Furthermore, the influence of particle size and geometry, orientation of the particles, cement-wood ratio and the effect of accelerators and treatment of the particles on modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture as well as thickness swelling are discussed.

Because of their wide abundance, their renewable and environmentally benign nature, and their outstanding mechanical properties, a great deal of attention has been paid recently to cellulosic nanofibrillar structures as components in nanocomposites. A first major challenge has been to find efficient ways to liberate cellulosic fibrils from different source materials, including wood, agricultural residues, or bacterial cellulose. A second major challenge has involved the lack of compatibility of cellulosic surfaces with a variety of plastic materials. The water-swellable nature of cellulose, especially in its non-crystalline regions, also can be a concern in various composite materials. This review of recent work shows that considerable progress has been achieved in addressing these issues and that there is potential to use cellulosic nano-components in a wide range of high-tech applications.

Resource assessment is a necessary step for any project, plan, or future energy prospectus involving renewable energy sources. The assessment of biomass and, in particular, the so-called forest and agricultural field residues, faces particular methodological difficulties due to the scarcity and heterogeneity of the data sources. For agricultural residues such as cereal straw, bagasses, etc., the residue to product ratios (RPR) are the key data needed for the estimations. In the present work the values of these product ratios reported in the literature are surveyed and are seen to vary greatly, depending on the reporting source. Some methodological procedures for obtaining RPR values are considered, and guidelines for conducting the resource evaluation are indicated. For the estimation of forest field biomass resources a methodological procedure based on the different stand stages along a forest rotation is presented. The main steps of this methodology are based on the availability of basic quantitative data from forest stands and the assumption of different silvicultural operations during the stand rotations. Environmental constraints should be observed in biomass resource assessments. However, the lack of clear recommendations concerning biomass removal in different forest soil and climate conditions suggest that more research is required to assess the sustainability of biomass harvest. Chemical characterization of some of the most representative biomass materials is also presented.

Microbial enzymes such as xylanases enable new technologies for industrial processes. Xylanases (xylanolytic enzyme) hydrolyze complex polysaccharides like xylan. Research during the past few decades has been dedicated to enhanced production, purification, and characterization of microbial xylanase. But for commercial applications detailed knowledge of regulatory mechanisms governing enzyme production and functioning should be required. Since application of xylanase in the commercial sector is widening, an understanding of its nature and properties for efficient and effective usage becomes crucial. Study of synergistic action of multiple forms and mechanism of action of xylanase makes it possible to use it for bio-bleaching of kraft pulp and for desizing and bio-scouring of fabrics. Results revealed that enzymatic treatment leads to the enhancement in various physical properties of the fabric and paper. This review will be helpful in determining the factors affecting xylanase production and its potential industrial applications in textile, paper, pulp, and other industries.