Volume 18 Issue 4

Active and intelligent packaging production helps to improve the food value chain, granting reliability to consumers. According to these two premises, these packaging concepts were born. Sustainability and food protection criteria are two fundamental aspects that can be achieved with wood components.

The development of nanocellulose (CNCs) chiral liquid crystal photonic elastomeric vitrimer materials is promising for achieving needed reduction in carbon emissions (elastomer material recycling) and developing novel photonic functional materials. The primary questions discussed are about what is the basic principle of chiral liquid crystal and photonic property of CNCs, how to design vitrimer elastomer materials, and what is the general approach to designing CNC chiral liquid crystal photonic elastomer vitrimer and mechanosensitive colour-changing materials.

Cellulose nanocrystals, as well as hydroxypropyl cellulose, can form lyotropic liquid crystals, which can be processed into pigments or glitter products for sustainable coloration. Some stimuli-responsive polymers or nanoparticles are expected to form colorimetric sensors via co-assembly with these cellulosic photonic crystals. The co-assembly behavior of CNCs with polymers is determined by the hydrogen bonds and physical adsorption. Thus, adjusting the molecular chain structure, hydrophilicity, and electrostatic interaction of co-assembled polymers can lead to flexible and tunable colorimetric cellulosic sensors. Despite the advantages of cellulose-based amorphous photonic crystal (APC) pigments or glitters as sustainable and visually captivating sensors, there are still problems in efficient preparation and co-assembly conditions. This editorial will provide a brief discussion of the benefits, applications, and challenges of cellulose-based APCs.

Seven universities in China currently offer undergraduate programs in chemical processing engineering of forest products (CPEFP), which play a crucial role in training professionals to meet the evolving demands of the forest-based chemical industry. However, these programs in Chinese universities face several challenges that require attention in order to better serve the development of the forest chemical industry.

This editorial considers hindrances that keep me from making sure that my used wooden furniture items don’t get thrown out at a point where their wooden content still has decades or hundreds of years of potential service left in them.  I am a careless and lazy person, and I am not always appreciating the different ways in which other people might be ready to appreciate and utilize my cast-off items.  Continued usage of a wooden item can be the ultimate in minimizing environmental impacts.  I might envision that the only usage of an old, scuffed wooden dining room set is full restoration.  But my niece might need it for her college apartment.  A friend of a friend might need it for an informal basement art studio.  Alternatively, if the set is really well beyond use in its original form, it could be converted into wood particles for particleboard or incinerated to generate renewable energy.  Whether I use eBay, word of mouth, my church’s electronic bulletin board, or just put the item out by the curb on a sunny day, a wooden item of furniture has the potential to continue to provide valuable service for much longer than I might first imagine.

Samples of agilawood (agarwood), which were studied in this work, were produced in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, China. To enhance incense production, a specific concentration of plant hormone is employed for induction. The extraction technology of agilawood essential oil was explored using supercritical carbon dioxide fluid, which exhibited a more pronounced induction effect. The pressure, temperature, and flow rate, respectively, were 8, 16, and 24 MPa; 35, 45, and 55 °C; and 20, 30, and 40 L/h. A Box-Behnken analysis was adopted for experimental data, which involved 33 experiments. The data were fitted with the equation Y = 2.18 + 0.1312X₁ – 0.025X₂ + 0.1236X₃ – 0.0025X₁X₂ – 0.0125X₂X₃ + 0.0175X₁₂ + 0.035X₂₂ – 0.1275X₃₂. Hence, the optimal process parameters in the supercritical extraction of agarwood essential oil were as follows: the pressure, temperature, and flow rate of 24 MPa, 35 °C, and 33 L/h, respectively. An analysis was conducted with the statistical analysis software Design-Expert 11, which indicated that the extraction yield of agarwood essential oil by supercritical carbon dioxide was mainly affected by the pressure and flow rate. The yield was proportional to the pressure and flow, and inversely proportional to the temperature.

Sound elements were studied for a six strings sape, a traditional instrument. The frequency was evaluated using a frequency spectrum and a time frequency plane. PicoScope oscilloscopes and Adobe Audition version 3 were used to record the acoustic spectra. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis was used for the Fourier spectra (using PicoScope) and time frequency analysis (TFA) spectrograms (using Adobe Audition). The Fourier spectra identified the partial frequencies up to 10^th overtone. The sape have an acoustic spectrum pattern with a constant harmonic overtone. Open strings 1 through 6 have notes F3, F3, A3, Bb3, G3, and C4, respectively. String 1 has 17 frets. Strings 2 through 6 are for drone purposes with no fret. The open string 1 and frets 1 through 17 have notes F3, G3, A3, Bb3, C4, D4, E4, F4, G4, A4, Bb4, C5, D5, E5, F5, G5, A5, and C6. String 1 has 2 octaves in the F major key with a jumping note in the third octave, which consists of F5, G5, A5, and C6 only.

Plastic used in food packaging causes permanent damage to living things. Therefore, biodegradable packaging has gained importance. In this study, biodegradable composite plates made from cross-linked wheat starch and cellulose-based fibers were examined for their physical and mechanical properties. The mechanical and physical properties were significantly altered when the obtained composite plates were examined. According to texture analysis, the plate with the lowest brittleness and with the highest crushing toughness value was produced from 7% carboxymethylcellulose. The densities of the composite plates obtained from cross-linked wheat starch were found to be 0.171 g/cm³, and their densities were found to be lower than the composite plates produced from natural wheat starch. It was determined that the plate with the highest water resistance was produced from 7% carboxymethyl cellulose. Added cellulosic fibers (commercial cellulose, linter fiber, hemp fiber) reduced moisture absorption from the air, reducing the average moisture content to 8.71. All of the plates produced with 7% linter fiber, which has the lowest moisture content, completely disappeared from nature within 40 days.

The aim of the conducted experiments was to determine the effect of selected machining parameters on power consumption and surface quality obtained during the milling of beech wood using a computerized numerical control woodworking machine. Surface roughness was tested using the contact roughness measurement method, while roughness parameters R_a and R_z were recorded and cutting energy was determined. Tests were conducted for two variants of cutting speed (7.5 and 15 m·s^-1) as well as three variants of chip thickness (0.10, 0.06, and 0.02 mm); additionally, the tests examined different cross-sections of wood. It was found that greater chip thickness and feed speed caused an increase in surface roughness and cutting power. In turn, cutting speed had no effect on surface roughness, whereas its increase resulted in increased cutting power. Surface roughness at the radial and tangential cross-sections was comparable, while it was greater at the transverse cross-section. It was also found that cutting power was lowest at the radial cross-section, while it was greater at the tangential and the greatest at the transverse cross-section.

Parallel-strand lumber was manufactured with bamboo (Phyllostachys bambusodies). A polyol compound was added to modify the adhesive (pMDI). Bamboo culms were used to manufacture strands 3 mm thick, 19 mm wide, and 65 cm long. Adhesive was applied to the strands at 200 g/m² with pressing at 110 °C, 15 kg/cm², and 30 min. Panels were made with width 600 mm, length 600 mm, and thickness 20 mm. Some physical properties (oven-dry density, air-dry density, moisture content, thickness swelling, and water absorption percentage) and mechanical properties (bending resistance, modulus of elasticity, impact resistance, screw-holding capacity in tangential, radial, and transverse directions) of parallel-strand lumber for both adhesive types were determined. Both resin types improved some physical and mechanical properties of parallel-strand lumber. Additionally, the modulus of rupture and flexural modulus of elasticity of the test specimens using pMDI+5%MP adhesive were higher than those of the test specimens using pMDI. The average screw-holding capacity values of the test specimens were affected by the fiber aspect of the specimens rather than the adhesive type. Parallel-strand lumber produced from both pMDI and pMDI+5%MP adhesives can be used in structural applications, especially in places exposed to the disturbing effects of weather.