Volume 11 Issue 2

BaFe12-xCrxO19 (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4) ferrite ceramics were prepared by a sol-gel method using spruce sapwoods as the templates. The prepared materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and a magnetic property measurement system (MPMS). The prepared materials maintained a multilayer wall structure of spruce sapwoods. All samples presented the single-phase of the magnetoplumbite barium hexaferrite. The saturation magnetization initially increased until it reached a maximum value at x= 0.2 and then decreased in three directions (parallel cross section, parallel radial section, and parallel tangential section). The coercivity decreased monotonously when measured in three directions. However, the coercivity was obviously lower in the parallel cross section direction than in the other directions because of the structural anisotropy caused by the multilayered wall structure.

This study investigated the application of heat to wood samples from Japanese cedar trees (Cryptomeria japonica) of small and medium diameters to evaluate the effects of both the temperature and duration of treatment on its surface, physical, and mechanical properties. The results indicate that the density, moisture content, and hygroscopicity of the wood samples decreased as the treatment temperature and duration increased, and the mass loss increased under the same conditions. Additionally, the dimensional stability of the wood improved in response to increased temperatures and prolonged durations. These results suggest that heat treatment can be used to improve the dimensional stability of wood. The surface color of the wood darkened progressively with increasing treatment temperature and duration, and the hydrophobicity of the wood sample improved as a result of the heat treatment. In contrast to the untreated wood, the heat-treated wood exhibited decreased mechanical properties with an increase in the treatment temperature and duration.

Sodium aluminosilicate scaling in evaporators during alkali recovery is often associated with the concentration of aluminum and silicon in black liquor. The scaling problems are widespread during the utilization of non-wood raw materials. This study established a fast, reliable, and precise method to determine the aluminum concentration in bamboo black liquor by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Prior to ICP-AES measurements, black liquor samples were digested in an automatic electric heating assisted digestion system. After optimizing the digestion, ICP-AES testing showed that the recovery of the element was 96.2% to 99.9% and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 0.07% to 0.52%. Additionally, comparative data for the concentration of analytes was obtained by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). This technique will be useful for assessing the scaling properties of black liquor in the alkali recovery phase.

Determining the structural changes of lignin during bio-treatment will facilitate the understanding of biomass recalcitrance during the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels. However, the analysis of milled wood lignin (MWL) cannot completely elucidate the complex and irregular structural changes therein. In this study, MWL and lignin degradation compounds were extracted from white-rot fungi-treated poplar in order to unveil the degradation process. Results from MWL revealed that the cleavage of β-O-4′ linkages (from 76.4/100Ar to 31.5/100Ar) and the degradation of β–β′and β-5′ linkages clearly occurred, resulting in a decrease in molecular weight. In addition, G-type lignin was more degraded than S-type lignin, with a slightly elevated S/G ratio from 1.13 to 1.29. Further analyses of lignin degradation compounds confirmed these results by showing a high amount of conjugated and unconjugated C=O functionalities. Furthermore, the degradation product of G-type lignin (vanillin) was detected by 2D HSQC NMR and GC-MS. This study of lignin alterations during white-rot fungi treatment could be beneficial for the sustainable production of chemicals, materials, and fuels from renewable plant resources.

Corporate leaders often view innovation as a key contributor to superior profits, market sharing, and competitive positioning. However, confusion regarding the definition of innovation, how to create it, and how to implement it remains. In countries that are recent European Union members, little research has been done on innovation and how innovation is related to corporate management activities. In this study, the linkages were examined in the Croatian furniture industry. The first part of the study was to deconstruct innovation into three components: product innovation, production process innovation, and human resource innovation. The second part of the study evaluates the relationships between these innovation components and four company management activities/factors (research and development investments, company flexibility, export activity, and the Internet usage) were examined. Scale testing resulted in valid deconstruction measures of innovation. Hypothesized correlations between innovation components and company management factors were supported, although the results were not fully consistent with those of previous studies.

The properties of wood can be improved after heat-treatment. There have been many studies dealing with mechanical properties and chemical modifications of heat-treated wood. The purpose of this paper is to provide a new analysis method, to give better insights on the hemicelluloses, cellulose, and lignin contents of heat-treated wood by using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and two-dimensional infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopies. The FT-IR spectra results showed progressive degradation in the carbonyl groups of the glucuronic acid units and degradation of the pyranose of hemicelluloses. These changes were measured as the percentage decrease of crystalline cellulose and the loss of C=O and C=C groups linking together the aromatic skeleton of lignin. The 2D-IR spectra showed the appearance of 5 × 5 peak clusters in the 1000 to 1200 cm-1 region, which could account for the hemicellulose degradation. In addition, changes in the degree of sensitivity at 1627 and 1509 cm-1 coincided with cross-linking reactions among the aromatic units in the lignin molecules.

This article describes a novel one-step method to prepare cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from bleached bagasse pulp via ammonium persulfate (APS) oxidation. The obtained persulfate oxidation cellulose nanocrystals (POCNs) were characterized for their microstructure, crystal properties, and chemical composition. The POCNs were successfully prepared with a total yield of 44.6%. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements indicated that the POCNs had an average length of 150 to 300 nm and an average width of 10 to 30 nm, as well as a rod-like morphology. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the introduction of carboxyl groups on the surface of cellulose. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra proved the existence of cellulose type I, with a highly crystalline nature (79.2%), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the thermal stability decreased.

Recently, a processing technique resembling plastic-type forming has been developed for solid wood. To improve the recyclability of the formed products, thermoplastics were used as a binder. In this study, a hydrophobic monomer of methylmethacrylate (MMA) was used as a thermoplastic binder and was impregnated into wood, then polymerised by heat to form polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). The effects of wood acetylation, a hydrophobising treatment of wood, on the extrudability of solid wood impregnated with PMMA (wood-PMMA composite) during extrusion were investigated. The acetylated wood was found to swell much more after the PMMA treatment than the untreated wood. The extrusion loads obtained from capillary fluidity tests of the acetylated wood-PMMA composite were lower than those of untreated composite. The fluidity improvement by acetylation can be attributed to a weakening of the cohesive interactions in the wood polymer, and this is primarily caused by the acetylation reaction itself. When the acetylated wood-PMMA composite was repeatedly extruded, the starting load of the extrusion decreased with increasing extrusion repetitions, probably as a result of decreasing wood particle size.

Three microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) samples were manufactured from bleached and unbleached softwood kraft pulp, and their properties were compared to those of the commercial MCC, Avicel PH-101. One of the produced samples retained a large portion of lignin (10.3%), while the two others retained only some. The physical, chemical, thermogravimetric, and molecular properties were analyzed. The presence of lignin caused a substantial effect on the thermogravimetric and chemical properties of the MCC, as well as on its surface characteristics. The lignin-containing sample degraded at lower temperatures, and its UV Raman spectra had a high intensity aromatic band (1600 cm-1) arising from the lignin. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed a high surface lignin coverage (40%) in this specimen only. Particle size and BET surface area measurement results varied in some limits between MCCs, while the cellulose crystallinity index showed almost equal values between 0.82 and 0.84. This work introduces a new wood-based product, the lignin-containing MCC, comparable in properties to the wide-marketed Avicel.

Nitrogen-, sulfur-co-doped activated carbons were obtained from sulfur-modified and nitrogen-doped activated carbons that were prepared from waste medium density fiberboard. The electrochemical capacitive performance of the activated carbon samples obtained was investigated in 7.0 M KOH electrolyte. The morphology, structure, and surface properties of the samples were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N2 adsorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and elemental analysis. The S-doping could be tuned by controlling the dosage of sulfur sublimed. Because of the introduction of sulfur functional groups, the prepared carbons exhibited better conductivity and higher specific capacitance, reaching 264 F/g under a current density of 50 mA/g and a 7.0 mol/L KOH electrolytic solution. A mechanism for improving the conductivity and capacitive performance of sulfur functional groups on activated carbons was discussed.