Volume 16 Issue 1

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose in an aqueous solution upon heating tends to undergo thermal gelation, where the polymer chains form a network and precipitate from solution. This occurs at a temperature known as thermal gelation point. Polymer precipitation causes a significant drop in the shear viscosity. This could be a disadvantage in a hot environment or in applications were heat is applied. In this work, a hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) was formed that undergoes thermal gelation with no polymer precipitation and with enhanced rheological properties. The target HPMC was prepared from wood pulp with a low content of carboxymethyl groups. The produced hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (CMHPMC) derivative showed unique physical properties that are not achievable with typical hydroxypropyl methylcellulose. The thermal gelation temperature of an aqueous solution of CMHPMC was increased from 55 °C for commercial HPMC to 85 °C for CMHPMC. A substitution level of carboxymethylation that led to an HPMC with a thermal gelation and with no precipitation was determined to be a 0.15 of carboxyl groups per anhydroglucose repeat unit. In addition, the carboxymethylated pulp showed an enhanced reactivity towards etherification reactions.

Pyrolysis experiments of cotton stalk (CS) and Shenmu coal (SM) were conducted in a tubular furnace. The pyrolysis temperature was 600 °C at 5 °C/min and sustained for 15 min. The water-soluble small molecule compounds (WSMC) were derived from the liquid products obtained during pyrolysis with the methods of toluene entrainment and ultrasonic extraction. The compositions of WSMC were further characterized by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The components of the syngas were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC). The results showed that the phenol yield was promoted by the interaction of CS and SM during co-pyrolysis. Moreover, the co-pyrolysis interaction blocked the radical reaction pathway that produces amides and accelerated the formation of pyridines. Because the ester yield increased, the esterification was clearly enhanced and the yield of carboxylic acids in WSMC was reduced during co-pyrolysis. In addition, the inhibition of furan generation resulted in an increased yield of C2–C4 hydrocarbons in the co-pyrolysis syngas. The maximal yields of C2–C4 hydrocarbons all occurred at a 20/100 ratio of CS/SM. Lastly, the formation mechanisms of small molecule compounds were proposed.

Hardness is an important wood property for several applications. Typically, it is necessary to use traditional methods, such as a universal test machine, to determine a wood’s hardness value. This work reports the hardness of some wood species before and after heat treatment (ThermoWood method) using the Shore-D hardness method. The Shore-D hardness value of untreated wood ranged between 35.3 for Limba wood and 77.2 for Santos wood. With heat treatment, hardness decreased, and the decrease was greater for samples that underwent harsher treatment (2 h at 212 °C). The decrease of hardness was highest for Sipo wood (14%) and the lowest for Afrormosia wood (2.5%). Analysis of variance tests showed that there was a significant difference between wood species, heat treatment, and the interaction between both variables at the chosen level of significance (P ≤ 0.05). Results showed that Shore-D hardness could be used to measure hardness directly in a production line or in small wood companies without using a universal test machine.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the total number of pallets that end up in landfills in the United States as well as to gain a better understanding of the overall waste stream. This research was conducted by mailing all of the licensed Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) facilities in the continental United States a questionnaire that included the option to complete the survey online. The questionnaire that was sent to the landfills was built upon previous surveys conducted by researchers at Virginia Tech in both 1995 and 1998. The results indicated that an estimated 249 million tons of MSW was received at landfills nationwide. This was an increase from the 239 million tons of MSW in 1998. Only 13.1 million pallets were landfilled in 2016, which was over a 90% decrease from the 138 million pallets landfilled in 1998. At the same time, approximately 15.9 million pallets were recovered, repurposed, or reused at the surveyed MSW facilities, which was a decrease from the 22 million pallets recovered in 1998. The results of this research indicate that fewer pallets are making their way to landfills, and a greater proportion of pallets reaching MSW facilities are being recovered.

The thermal modification of wood is a potential alternative method for improving wood dimensional stability and increasing the resistance of wood to decay. However, during thermal modification, morphological changes occur within the microstructure of the cell, and these confer different properties to the wood. This study investigated the effects of the thermal modification process on the microstructure of radiata pine juvenile wood. Therefore, anatomical measurements were performed via optical microscopy in selected earlywood and latewood samples after each treatment, and the results were compared to untreated wood samples. In this study, two temperatures (190 °C and 210 °C) were considered for the thermal modification process. The results showed that the level of temperature of modification affected to microstructure of cell wall. The cell wall thickness decreased as treatment temperature increased, whereas the average lumen diameter increased slightly as temperature increased. Thermally modified radiata pine showed signs of damage (cracks, broken cells and deformations in the wood cell wall). The proportion of destroyed area increased as temperature increased, and significant differences were evident for the thermal treatment at 210 °C.

An ionic liquid was used in this work to dissolve rice straw at 90 °C to explore the dissolution of cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose in the straw at different treatment times. Compared with traditional methods, the method involved short time and high efficiency. The residual amounts of multiple substances were evaluated at different time periods. The results showed that the dissolution rate of triglyceride fats, water-soluble pectin, and lignin reached their maxima at 10 min, after which the dissolution rates decreased. Because lignin is wrapped as an outer layer surrounding cellulose and becomes dissolved in preference to hemicellulose and cellulose, cellulose and hemicellulose dissolve minimally at the beginning of the reaction, and the dissolution rate is slow. This study showed that there is a certain possibility for the direct utilization of ionic liquids for the treatment of straw biomass.

Algae constitute a diverse group that is useful in many biotechnological areas. In this paper, the usefulness of Caulerpa sertularioides methanol extract in the synthesis of ZnO and Zn(OH)2 nanoparticles was explored. This work had two main objectives: (1) to use the extract in the synthesis as an organic harmless complexing agent, and (2) to enhance a photocatalytic effect over AZO dyes in wastewater from fabric industries without adding nanomaterial to the environment due to its toxicity. Caulerpa extract performed the expected complexing action, and nanoparticles were formed in a size range from 45 to 69 nm. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy were used to characterize the system. It was demonstrated that the nanoparticles were useful to photocatalyst AZO dyes in the water, while contained in tetraethylorthosilicate composites. These could be used in industrial wastewater and are expected to have no environmental consequences because the composites do not add nanoparticles to the water.

A large amount of plant waste from the sides of highways is trimmed and burned, which causes environmental pollution. In addition, headlight glare that occurs when two cars pass each other is dangerous. Traditional anti-glare boards are mostly made of metal, plastic, and other materials that easily age and are expensive to recycle. To recycle the plant waste and prevent glare-related accidents, in the present study, a painted wooden anti-glare board (WAB) was developed and its performance was investigated. In the WAB, there are 7 layers of eucalyptus veneers interlaced, and the mechanical strength of the board prepared with a gradient hot-pressing process after impregnation with phenolic resin was good (79.8 MPa). The wind load resistance of the WAB reached 864 N, which meets GB/T 24718 (2009) and is close to that of glass fiber-reinforced plastic anti-glare boards (914 N). After 10 cycles of weather resistance tests comprising submersion, freezing, and hot-drying, the average static bending strength of the WAB was 29.6 N/mm2. The limited oxygen index of the WAB was 26.1%. Therefore, the WAB showed good properties. The implemented research strategy broadens the application range of the wood composite material and endows it with high added value.

The radial and tangential swelling as well as the fully dried density of low-density wood materials densified via the Thermo-Vibro-Mechanic® method were evaluated in response to applying wood stain and preservative. The samples obtained from Uludağ fir (Abies bornmüelleriana Mattf.) and black poplar (Populus nigra L.) in the radial and tangential direction were pre-treated with wood stain and preservative before undergoing Thermo-Vibro-Mechanic® densification. Thermo-Vibro-Mechanic® densification was performed at three different temperatures (100 °C ± 3 °C, 120 °C ± 3 °C, and 140 °C ± 3 °C), three different vibration pressures (0.60 MPa, 1.00 MPa, and 1.40 MPa), and three different vibration times (20 s, 60 s, and 100 s). Afterwards, changes in the fully dried density and swelling amounts in the radial and tangential directions of the samples were determined. The fully dried density increased by 15.4% to 38% and the radial and tangential swelling amounts increased by 73.2% to 242.6%, when the densified samples were compared to the control samples. In general, the fully dried density and swelling values increased depending on the Thermo-Vibro-Mechanic® densification parameters; higher values were found as the compression ratio and total application time increased.

Lentinus squarrosulus, a white-rot Basidiomycete, produces versatile peroxidase under nutrient-limiting conditions. This study was undertaken to enhance the yield of versatile peroxidase from the fungus by optimizing the physiological factors of nutrients and their concentration, inducers, temperature, and pH. Optimal medium was devised using a central composite design – response surface methodology and experimental validation. The fungus produced high levels of versatile peroxidase at a C:N ratio of approximately 100, temperature of 35 °C, and initial pH of 7. Immobilization of Lentinus squarrosulus on inert polyurethane foam (PUF) with optimized medium for production enhanced the versatile peroxidase yield multifold. Maximal yield of versatile peroxidase achieved through optimization and immobilization strategies was 116 U/mL. Efficacy of crude versatile peroxidase on aromatics degradation was illustrated through Fourier transform infrared analysis. The results demonstrated the improvised yield of versatile peroxidase from Lentinus squarrosulus and its efficiency in delignification of crop residues, substantiating the role of this enzyme in biotechnological applications especially for enriching ruminant feed.