Volume 11 Issue 4

European silver fir (Abies alba L.) wood was heat-treated in an oven for 60 min at seven different temperatures of 100 °C, 150 °C, 200 °C, 220 °C, 240 °C, 260 °C, and 280 °C under atmospheric pressure in the presence of air. The effect of thermal treatment on the chemical composition, mechanical, and color properties of the wood was studied, and the mutual correlations between the investigated properties were evaluated. The bending strength/modulus of rupture (MOR) and the modulus of elasticity (MOE) were positively correlated with the total saccharides, glucose, mannose, and xylose content, where R ranged from 0.942 to 0.984. For changes in the wood color, very strong positive correlations between the total color difference and the contents of lignin and extractives were determined, where R = 0.968 and 0.945 respectively. Additionally, the total color difference was negatively correlated with the total saccharides, mannose, and xylose content, where R ranged from 0.876 to 0.938. The obtained data were evaluated by principal component analysis (PCA), where the components explained 93.1% of the total variance.

Several previous studies have investigated the effects of heat treatment on the chemical composition, along with the physical and mechanical properties, of wood from various species. However, the effects of these property changes upon the machining properties and surface quality of machined wood have been studied much less. The main goal of this work was to investigate the comparative cutting power consumption during milling and the resulting surface roughness of heat-treated and untreated beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.). Several cutting regimes were tested by combining different values of rotation speed, feed speed, and cutting depth. The cutting power and the processing roughness were assessed and compared. The results clearly showed that the cutting power involved in the milling of heat-treated beech wood was up to 50% lower than that of untreated wood, but the processing roughness was slightly higher.

Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) was used to improve the optical and strength properties of soda bagasse pulp (500 CSF) in the presence of cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM). Cationic polyacrylamide was added at 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15%, and cellulose nanofiber was added at 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 2% based on pulp O.D. Laboratory handsheets were prepared (60 g/m2), and optical and strength properties were measured according to TAPPI standards. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy images showed that empty spaces between fibers decreased under CPAM/CNF treatments. The effect of the additives and their addition level on all the measured paper properties was significant at the 99% confidence level. The light scattering coefficient, brightness, and whiteness increased with the addition of cellulose nanofibers, but the light absorption coefficient, yellowness, and opacity decreased. At the highest levels of the additives (2% CNF and 0.15% CPAM), the tensile and burst strengths of handsheets increased by 33% and 15%, respectively. Generally, cellulose nanofibers/cationic polyacrylamide complexes improved the optical and strength properties of bagasse pulp.

The fatigue and fracture properties of bamboo fiber composites made of woven layers were investigated. This study utilized a specific type of bamboo species named Gigantochloa scortechinii (Buluh Semantan). In these experiments, unsaturated polyester (UP) and bamboo fiber (BF) strips were prepared through a hand lay-up technique using 3-mm thick aluminum mould. The composite bamboo strips had a thickness of 1.5 mm. The strips were woven together to make a single layer. The layer was then laminated into several thicknesses. The specimens were then characterized using fatigue and fracture tests. A fatigue limit of 30 MPa and fracture toughness of 5 to 8 MPa √m were obtained. These findings suggest that the bamboo strips, based on unsaturated polyester, provided relatively good fatigue and fracture properties and a good method of reinforcing fibers to combat fatigue and fracture failures.

Oriented strandboards (OSB) having various properties were constructed by varying processing parameters including strand thickness, strand length, and panel density. A calculation method was developed for analyzing the fractal dimension of void size (FDVS) on the cross-section of OSB samples based on a computer image processing technique and the fractal geometry theory. The results showed that The FDVS on the cross-section of OSB varied with different processing parameters. The FDVS decreased with strand thickness and increased with panel density, whereas the FDVS irregularly changed with strand length. Especially for panels with the same overall porosity, the FDVS was dependent on the internal structure. Therefore, the FDVS could be a useful additional parameter for characterizing the internal structure of OSB.

A one-step method for laccase production and immobilization using the waste culture of Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) was developed, and the laccase was immobilized by the mycelium, which was in the form of a white membrane consisting of superfine fibers. This medical and edible membrane was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the fiber diameter was found to be between 1 and 3 μm, with a porous structure formed in the membrane. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the membrane contained polysaccharide groups and had good thermal resistivity. The membrane was used for the decolorization of methyl violet and malachite green, while the MTT test showed that the membrane had good biocompatibility. The experimental results indicated that the membrane might be applicable for other environmental protection applications in the future.

Rice husk was chemically modified for the preparation of activated carbon. Rice husk was treated with nitric acid and carbonized at 700 C. After carbonization, the resulting rice husk char was treated with NaOH at room temperature. The 5 M NaOH-treated rice husk had the highest surface area (750 m2/g). Proximate analysis of activated carbon confirmed that NaOH treatment removed silica completely. Temperature programmed decomposition (TPD) graphs showed that the total gas contents (CO and CO2) liberated by CRH and H2O-treated CRH and CRH5M were 2l5 μmol/g, 390 μmol/g, and 970 μmol/g, respectively. The adsorption studies of the activated carbon during Cr(VI) removal from the aqueous medium indicated that CRH5M showed the highest rate of adsorption. The effect of adsorbent dosage, Cr(VI) concentration, pH, and temperature were studied to determine the best removal efficiency. With a decrease in pH from 4.4 to 2, the adsorption capacity increased from 3 mg/g to 25.2 mg/g. The adsorption of Cr(VI) followed pseudo-second-order behaviour. The changes in Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy affected by thermodynamic parameters were found to be negative, which confirmed that the adsorption of Cr(VI) on CRH5M is spontaneous, exothermic, and favours low temperatures.

The potential of using hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) on corn straw (CS) was studied for the production of solid fuel. The effects of hydrothermal conditioning on the mass yield, energy yield, higher heating value (HHV), H/C and O/C atomic ratios, the morphology, and equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of hydrochars were examined by varying the reaction temperature (170 °C, 200 °C, 230 °C, and 260 °C) and the residence time (15 min and 30 min). The results demonstrated that the solid fuel properties of hydrochar produced at 230 °C for 30 min had an appropriate HHV of 20.51 MJ/kg, a mass yield of 64.80%, and an energy yield of 77.41%. The physical structure changed because of hydrothermal carbonization and the hydrophobicity of hydrochar increased in comparison to raw corn straw after hydrothermal carbonization. The combustion characteristics and kinetic parameters of raw corn straw and hydrochar were calculated based on the thermogravimetric curves according to Arrhenius equation. The activation energies of hydrochars were larger than that of raw corn straw. The comprehensive combustibility index (S) of raw corn straw was greater than that of hydrochar when the reaction temperature and residence time were 230 °C and 30 min, respectively.