Volume 11 Issue 1

Butyl methacrylate acid (BMA) was used to enhance the properties of coconut shell (CS) and regenerated cellulose (RC) biocomposite films. The effects of coconut shell content and BMA on the tensile properties, crystallinity index (CrI), thermal properties, and morphology of biocomposite films were investigated. An increase in CS content, up to 3 wt.%, increased the tensile strength and modulus of elasticity, but decreased the elongation at break. The CS-RC biocomposite films treated with BMA exhibited higher tensile strength and modulus of elasticity but lower elongation at break. The crystallinity index (CrI) and thermal stability of CS-RC biocomposite films increased with increasing CS up to 3 wt.%. Treated CS biocomposite films had better thermal stability than untreated CS biocomposite films. The presence of BMA increased the crystallinity of CS regenerated cellulose biocomposite films. Enhancement of the interfacial interaction of CS-RC biocomposite films was revealed by morphological study.

Luffa was evaluated as a potential energy crop. A considerable amount of luffa sponge biomass can be grown in a vertical direction with approximately 70% polysaccharide content and low lignin content. When concentrated H3PO4 was employed to pretreat luffa sponge, hemicelluloses were the most sensitive component, followed by cellulose and lignin. Hemicellulose solubilization and cellulose loss positively responded to the elevated temperature, time, H3PO4 concentration, and dosage for pretreatment. However, lignin solubilization was not affected greatly. Although the initial hydrolysis rate was accelerated by increasing pretreatment temperature, the final glucose conversion was reduced as temperature was raised higher than 50 °C. Prolonging pretreatment time was positively correlated to enzymatic digestibility. When H3PO4 concentration was lower than 80%, the final glucose conversion was increased with increasing H3PO4 concentration. Increasing H3PO4 concentration to 84% for pretreatment caused the final glucose conversion to decrease slightly, although the hydrolysis rate was initially accelerated. Additionally, an improvement of glucose conversion was obtained with increasing the substrate-to-phosphoric acid ratio. However, the improvement was not cost-effective, as the ratio was lower than 1-to-8.

Low density polyethylene (LDPE), carbon black (CB), and oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fiber composites were prepared by melt blending and compression molded into sheets. The effects of incorporated fibers on the electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, tensile properties, and thermal degradation of the composites were investigated. FTIR results suggest that the OPEFB fibers interact poorly with the polymer matrix and lead to a decrease in mechanical properties. The electrical conductivity of the composites decreased with increasing OPEFB fiber content. Despite the slight decline in conductivity, the composites still were sufficiently conductive relative to applications such as sensors and electromagnetic shielding after the fiber addition. Reduction in thermal conductivity by as much as 10.9% was observed with the addition of 20% OPEFB fiber into LDPE/CB composites. The thermal stability of LDPE/CB/OPEFB fiber composites decreased with increasing fiber content because of the low thermal stability of the incorporated natural fiber.

This study investigated the flexural performance of 20 laminated bamboo beam specimens. The load-strain and load-displacement relationships were obtained from tests, and the detailed failure modes, bending strength, and elastic modulus for all specimens are reported. The study demonstrates the following points: all the beams displayed an initial elastic phase, non-linear deformation, and then brittle failure initiated by rupture on the tension side of the beam. The elastic moduli for compression and tension of the laminated bamboo were the same, and the strain was distributed linearly across the cross-section of the beams during the testing process. There were no obvious width effects on the ultimate strain or bending strength of the laminated bamboo beam. A tri-linear constitutive model is proposed to represent the behaviour of the laminated bamboo under bending, which is shown to reproduce the load-strain and load-displacement responses of the beams very well. In addition, a calculation formula for the ultimate bending moment is proposed.

The impact of cold temperatures on the shear strength of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) joints glued with seven commercially available adhesives was studied in this work. The cold temperatures investigated were: 20, −20, −30, −40, and −50 °C. Generally, within the temperature test range, the shear strength of Scots pine solid wood and wood joints were more resistant to the effect of temperature than those of Norway spruce. As the temperature decreased, only some of the joints’ shear strength significantly decreased. In most cases, PUR adhesive yielded the strongest shear strength and MUF adhesive yielded the weakest shear strength. MF adhesive responded to temperature changes in a similar manner to that of PUR and PVAc adhesives. The shear strengths of wood joints with PRF and EPI adhesives were more sensitive to temperature change. For dynamic tests of shear strength, the values for 12-h and 6-day tests under temperature cycles (−20 and 0 °C) were compared. The values for 6-day tests were lower than those for 12-h tests. Therefore, the duration of the samples subjected to the same temperature had a significant impact on shear strength. Our results indicate that PUR adhesive is the most stable; whereas the stability of MUF and PRF adhesives decreased significantly.

Ground calcium carbonate (GCC) was modified by starch with the aid of sodium stearate and sodium hexametaphosphate. The GCC was encapsulated within the complex. The effect of the dosages of sodium stearate and sodium hexametaphosphate on the coating weight of modified GCC and the complex utilization rate were studied. The SEM images of modified GCC were compared with that of unmodified GCC. The results showed that the dosage of these two modifiers affected the coating weight of modified GCC and the complex utilization rate.

“Green” resole phenolic resins for laminating applications were synthesized, and their properties and thermal stability were determined. The plant-based cardanol and condensed tannin were used as the partial substitutes of up to 40% of the phenol in the synthesis of the phenolic resins. The resins were synthesized with different proportions of phenol (P) to cardanol (C) and with different total molar ratio to the formaldehyde (F) in the resins (1.25 to 2.0). An increased cardanol content resulted in a proportional increase in the flexibility and fracture toughness of the cured cardanol-phenol-formaldehyde (CPF) resins. Also, a direct proportionality was found between increasing cardanol content and decreased crosslink density of the CPF resins. The best results were obtained with the formulation with a P:F molar ratio equal to 1:1.25. Tannin was incorporated into the CPF resins and the fracture toughness and flexibility values of the cured Tannin-CPF resins were found to be proportional to and increasing with the tannin content. However, glass transition temperature (Tg), flexural stress, and flexural modulus values of the CPF resins decreased with the tannin content. TGA-FTIR study of the resins was carried out and the emitted gas species during the pyrolysis of the samples were identified. The thermal stability and the temperature of degradation of the cured CPF resins decreased with increasing cardanol content.

This paper analyzes and evaluates the European Union (EU) utilization of renewable resources in energy production and consumption. Biomass and renewable waste, with a share of 64.2% of primary renewable energy production, is the most important energy source in the EU. However, utilization of renewables in energy production and consumption differs across EU countries and is significantly influenced by various factors, including environmental, social, and economic characteristics. Cluster analysis was used to reveal these differences based on the identification and quantification of a set of factors reflecting the availability of renewable resources, utilization of renewable resources, and relevant socio-economic indicators. The results indicate that there are nine main identifiable clusters, considering the high variability of selected variables. The analysis confirmed that the economically developed EU countries with significant renewable resources have above-average primary energy production from renewable resources and biomass in particular. On the other hand, small EU countries are aggregated in numerous clusters characterized by under-average values in terms of availability and utilization of renewable resources such as wood production or energy consumption but with a relatively high share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption.

In order to further reduce absorbable organic halide (AOX) formation in the bleaching effluent, NH2SO3H and DMSO were added during the elemental chlorine-free (ECF) bleaching (D0EpD1) of bagasse kraft pulp. In the D0 stage, AOX formation decreased by 10% with 0.1% NH2SO3H, and a reduction of 11.2% with 1.0% DMSO, respectively. Ultraviolet (UV) spectra, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) were adopted in characterizing changes of lignin degradation and the main functional groups of bleached pulp. The UV spectrum showed that the quantity of polyphenols decreased after adding the additives. The FTIR spectrum showed that both the content of phenolic-type lignin and the degradation degree of lilac-type lignin decreased after adding NH2SO3H. If was found that DMSO was beneficial in retaining C-O-C and C=O structures in cellulose and hemicellulose, while NH2SO3H decreased the content of β-glycosidic bonds and C-O-C structures in cellulose and hemicellulose. The composition of lignin degradation products in the bleaching effluent was analyzed by GC-MS. The contents of chlorobenzene and chlorophenol decreased notably when additives were added. Compared with DMSO, NH2SO3H exhibited poor inhibition on the formation of some phenols.

Birch veneers were coated with Ni-P films by a combined process of KBH4 activation and electroless plating. The plated veneers were further chemically corroded to obtain hydrophobic surfaces on wood. The effect of chemical corrosion on the contact angle of the veneers was investigated. The hydrophobic veneers were characterized by X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The surface contact angle of birch veneer before and after it was plated with Ni-P alloy coating was 41º and 121º, respectively. The contact angle reached 136.7º when the nickel-coated veneers were corroded in CuSO4 aqueous solution for 30 min. XPS analysis showed that Cu0 cluster doped with little CuO formed on the corroded surface of Ni-P alloy film after chemical corrosion. SEM and XRD showed that rough copper clusters formed on the surface of the wood veneer and revealed the reason of the surface hydrophobicity. This study provides a new pathway for fabricating hydrophobic wood.