Volume 11 Issue 1

Aiming at obtaining greater value from the complicated composition of the bio-oil aqueous phase, solvents of increasing polarity were employed to sequentially separate the bio-oil aqueous phase using column chromatography. This not only relieved the catalyst deactivation, but also made it possible to obtain fractions rich in different chemical families to produce high-grade liquid fuels and valuable chemicals. Gas chromatography was adopted as a monitoring technology, and 11 fractions rich in different chemical families were obtained. The phenolic compounds in the aqueous phase were primarily eluted using dichloromethane. The strong polar benzenediols were enriched gradually in a dichloromethane fraction, and a high catechol content of 62.81% was achieved with the subsequent combination of a pH control method. Ethyl acetate gave three fractions, and pyrolytic sugars were the predominant compounds, whose highest content reached 67.86% in the third fraction. Further separation of the sugar-rich fraction using column chromatography could remove the residual phenolic compounds and furans and acquire a sugar fraction suitable for fermentation.

Starch-based adhesive was prepared from corn starch and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as raw materials by acid hydrolysis with HCl. The starch was hydrolyzed with different amounts of HCl and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The results indicated that different amounts of HCl affected hydrogen bonds, the amount of free hydroxyl groups, crystalline structure, compatibility between starch and PVA, thermal stability, and bond strength. The crystallinity decreased by 13.7% when the amount of acid was 33% compared with untreated starch. The bond strength reached its maximum of 1.35 MPa when the acid content was 23%. The initial decomposition temperature of starch decreased after acid hydrolysis. It was also noted that corrosion of the starch surface increased with increasing acid content.

The withdrawal resistance of screws in heat-treated and reinforced laminated veneer lumber (RLVL) was determined in the radial, tangential, and transverse directions. For this reason, laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and RLVL with carbon fibers were produced from heat-treated oak (Quercus petraea (Liebl.)) veneers using phenol formaldehyde as the adhesive. Wood samples were heat-treated at 140, 170, 200, and 230 °C for 2 h. According to the results of the study, screw withdrawal strength values of LVL increased for heat-treated samples at 140 °C, but decreased at 170, 200, and 230 °C. However, in all groups, the screw withdrawal strength values of the RLVL were higher than those of the LVL. The highest screw withdrawal strength values were identified in the tangential direction, and the lowest were in the transverse directions. Carbon fiber can be used between the heat-treated wood veneers to provide sufficient screw withdrawal strength for use in many different industries.

Effects of nutshell fiber loadings of 30 wt.% and MCC loadings up to 15 wt.% on some properties of high-density polyethylene composites (HDPE) were investigated. The composites were manufactured by a single screw extruder and injection molding. The experimental composite samples were tested for their mechanical performance including tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and impact strength. Thermal and morphological properties of the composites were tested by differential scanning calorimetry-DSC and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The maximum tensile strength was obtained from the MCC-filled composites, whereas the maximum flexural strength was achieved with the MCC-nutshell filled composites. The tensile and flexural moduli of the composites were significantly improved with increasing MCC content and the presence of nutshell fibers in polymer matrix. Impact strength decreased using MCC and nutshell fiber in the polymer matrix. Based on the DSC results, there was no remarkable change in the melting point for all composites. The results showed that the incorporation of nutshell fibers and MCC in the polymer matrix had brought about some positive effect on mechanical properties of HDPE composites.

Chemical impregnation of black spruce was conducted to enhance the wood embedment capacity. The formulation was made of 1,6 hexanediol diacrylate, trimethylpropane triacrylate, and a polyester acrylate oligomer. A second formulation, same as the first but with 1% wt of SiO2 nanoparticles, was selected to investigate the potential of nanoparticles and to improve the efficiency of the treatment. The wood embedment capacity was carried out by a dowel-bearing test, which was performed for the two treatments and for an untreated wood group. Both treatments showed an increase of strength of nearly 50% when compared to untreated samples. Micrograph views revealed that the impregnation solution penetrated into the wood only up to 100 μm. Hence, with low chemical consumption, the structural bearing capacity can be significantly increased.

With currently practiced technology, lignin is either incinerated in the recovery cycle of pulping or wasted in wastewater treatment systems, resulting in its underutilization. However, lignin can be converted to value-added products. In this work, the copolymerization of soda lignin (SL) and acrylamide (AM) was carried out using potassium persulphate (K2S2O8) as an initiator in an aqueous solution to prepare water-soluble lignin-acrylamide (SL-AM) copolymer as a dry strength additive. The results showed that the optimal copolymerization conditions were 7.5 AM/SL molar ratio, 3.0 wt.% (based on lignin) of K2S2O8, 90 °C, and 4 h of reaction time, which resulted in a SL-AM copolymer with 100% solubility at 10 g/L concentration at pH 7 in water, a grafting ratio of 398%, and a molecular weight of 1.94×105 g/mol. The prepared SL-AM copolymer was characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR) spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). By adding 1.0 wt.% of SL-AM copolymer to the pulp, the tensile, tear, and burst strengths were increased by 23.1%, 22.7%, and 15.2%, respectively, which implies that the resultant copolymer was an effective strength additive for papermaking.

As an abundant natural resource in Asia, bamboo is receiving increased attention as an engineering material due to its renewability and excellent strength. The parallel-to-grain compression and shearing properties of moso bamboo culm were examined. The growth characteristics (bamboo age, nodes, and location along the culm), as well as treatments for practical applications (hole punching and hoop reinforcing by hose clamp) were investigated for their influence. Mechanical tests were conducted in accordance with the ISO22157-1:2004 (2004), ISO/TR 22157-2:2004(E) (2004), and CNS GB/T 15780-1995 (1996) standards. Acceptable loading rates for the parallel-to-grain compression and shearing tests were 0.1 and 0.05 mm/s, respectively. The compressive and shearing strengths increased from the bottom to the top of the bamboo. Bamboo age and nodes exerted little influence on parallel-to-grain compressive and shearing strength. In addition, hole punches diminished the mechanical strength of the bamboo culm, while hose clamps enhanced it slightly.

The preparation conditions of complex fire-retardant (FR) agents containing boron compounds (BF, X1), nitrogen-phosphorus compounds (NPF, X2), silicon compounds (SF, X3), and halogen compounds (HF, X4) for ultra-low density fiberboard (ULDF) were optimized using a response surface methodology. The effects and interactions of X1, X2, X3, and X4 on the fire properties of ULDF were investigated. An optimum char yield of 61.4% was obtained when the complex fire-retardant agents contained 33.9% boron, 27.2% nitrogen-phosphorus, 15.0% silicon, and 28.6% halogen. Compared with control fiberboard (CF), the heat release rate (HRR) profiles of all fiberboards with FRs were reduced. The peak HRR reduction in BF and NPF was more pronounced than for SF and HF at this stage. And the mixed fiberboard (MF) had the lowest pkHRR of 75.02 kW m−2. In total heat release (THR) profiles, all fiberboards with FRs were lower than the CF. Unlike the HRR profiles, HF had the lowest THR profile of 15.33 MJ m−2. Additionally, Si compounds showed greater effectiveness in preventing ULDF mass loss than BF, NPF, and HF. MF showed the highest residual mass (40.94%). Furthermore, the synergistic effect between four FR agents showed more significant results in ULDFs.

The effects of two pulp pretreatments, impregnation with ascorbic acid (AA) or purified kraft lignin (KL), on bleached pulp refining were investigated by examining and testing handsheets made from these pulps. The AA pretreatment of the pulp amplified the depolymerization of the cellulose and notably impaired the strength properties of the pulp handsheets. The effects were enhanced upon the combination of the AA pretreatment and intensive refining. Furthermore, heat treatments (at 225 °C, 30 min, in water vapor atmospheres of 1 and 75% (v/v)) promoted the depolymerization of cellulose and the total color difference in the AA impregnated handsheets more than for the KL impregnated and reference handsheets. In contrast to AA, the KL pretreatment of the pulp improved the burst index stability of the refined pulp handsheets after the humid thermal treatment (75% (v/v)). In addition, the total color difference of the KL impregnated handsheets was lower than the AA impregnated and reference handsheets.

Conditions to increase phenolic hydroxyl groups (OH-Phe) in organosolv lignin using alkaline catalysts (NaOH and KOH) were optimized with the purpose of increasing the reactivity of lignin and to evaluate the effect on the structure of the newly generated compounds as a result of the base-catalyzed depolymerization (BCD). The lignin-derived compounds could be used for the synthesis of bio-based polymers and nanomaterials. The maximal yield of OH-Phe reached values of 5270 and 3970 μmol per gram of lignin when NaOH (8.6%, 173 °C, and 33 min) and KOH (11.7%, 174 °C, and 58 min), defined as optimal conditions for BCD, were used, respectively, while for the control lignin, OH-Phe was 2830 μmol per gram of lignin. The molecular weight (Mw) and glass transition temperature (Tg) for lignin-NaOH were lower than those of lignin-KOH and lignin-control. Both lignin derivatives had greater thermal stability at high temperatures than lignin-control. In conclusion, the results showed higher modifications in the structure of lignin as a result of the oxidation process, primarily by cleavage of the β-O-4 ether bond and variations in thermochemical properties when NaOH is used as alkaline catalyst.