Volume 7 Issue 2

Cellulose-graft-poly (L-lactide) (cellulose-g-PLLA) was prepared under homogeneous mild conditions. Ring-opening polymerization (ROP) was carried out successfully using 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) as an organic catalyst in an ionic liquid 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AmimCl). The structure of the polymer was characterized by GPC, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FT-IR, TGA, WAXD, and AFM. The results indicated that the grafting rate of the polymer reached 4.44, which was higher than that reported in AmimCl with Sn(oct)2 as a catalyst. In addition, AFM showed that the polymer in solution could aggregate and self-assemble into an approximately spherical structure, which was different from the rod-like structure of cellulose and round-like polylactic acid particles.

Wood flour-high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites were prepared to investigate the effects of ammonium polyphosphate based fire retardant content (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10-wt%), on the flammability, mechanical, and morphological properties of the wood flour-HDPE composites in this study. Cone calorimetry analysis showed that the addition of fire retardant could decrease the heat release rate (HRR) and total smoke release of wood flour-HDPE composites, while it had no obviously effects on effective heat of combustion. Most of the decrease of the HRR occurred with the concentration of the fire retardant up to 4-wt%. With addition of fire retardant, the composites showed a decrease in tensile elongation at break and impact strength, and had no obvious effect on tensile and flexural strength. The scanning electron microscopy observation on the fracture surface of the composites indicated that fire retardant had a uniform dispersion in the wood flour-HDPE composites. However, interfacial bonding would be suggested to improve in wood flour-HDPE composites with ammonium polyphosphate based fire retardant.

In this study, the relationship between the properties of the wood and kraft pulp fibers as well as paper characteristics of 27-year-old trees, lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), was assessed. All trees had been grown in Latvia, within the same forest type, Myrtillosa. Wood density, year ring width, chemical composition and cross-sectional cell wall dimensions were measured. Fiber characteristics were determined, and handsheets were made for all samples from unbeaten kraft pulp. The results showed that the amount of latewood had a positive correlation with wood density for both species and with further positive impact on the paper burst index. Also, slight differences in cross-sectional dimensions were observed. Lodgepole pine provided paper with higher burst strength than Scots pine. Since the former is of higher density, less wood per volume is needed to produce a ton of pulp, and results showed a higher pulp yield in the case of lodgepole pine.

The effect of superheated steam treatment on oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) was investigated in terms of physicochemical property changes and enzymatic hydrolysis enhancement. The experimental treatment was carried out at different temperatures (140-210°C) and durations (20-90 min). Results showed that as the superheated steam temperature and time increased, the size distribution also changed, resulting in more small particles. Analysis on the surface texture, color, and mechanical properties of the treated OPEFB also showed that significant changes resulted due to the superheated steam treatment. In support to this, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric (TG) analyses showed that solubilization and removal of the hemicelluloses component also took place. As a result of this phenomenon, higher total sugar and glucose yield was achieved once the treated OPEFB was subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis. This suggests that superheated steam treatment could enhance OPEFB structure degradation for the preparation of a suitable substrate in order to produce a higher glucose yield in the enzymatic hydrolysis process.

Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) has many potential applications because of its special properties. In this paper, NCC was prepared from bamboo pulp. Bamboo pulp was first pretreated with sodium hydroxide, followed by hydrolysis with sulfuric acid. The concentration of sulfuric acid and the hydrolysis time on the yield of NCC were studied. The results showed that sulfuric acid concentration had larger influence than the hydrolysis time on the yield of NCC. When the temperature was 50oC, the concentration of sulfuric acid was 48wt% and the reaction time was 30 minutes, a high quality of nanocrystalline cellulose was obtained; under these conditions, the length of the nanocrystalline cellulose ranged from 200 nm to 500 nm, the diameter was less than 20 nm, the yield was 15.67wt%, and the crystallinity was 71.98%, which is not only higher than those of cellulose nanocrystals prepared from some non-wood materials, but also higher than bamboo cellulose nanocrystals prepared by other methods.

Carbohydrate-containing hydrolysates (1.1 to 14.9% of wood dry matter) obtained from autohydrolysis (at 130 to 150°C for 30 to 120 minutes) of birch (Betula pendula) chips prior to pulping were purified with respect to non-carbohydrate materials, without carbohydrate losses, either by ethyl acetate extraction or XAD-4 resin treatment. In the former case, about 50% of lignin and practically all the furanoic compounds (2-furaldehyde and 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural) could be removed, whereas in the latter case, the corresponding amounts were about 30% and 50 to 90%, respectively. A partial recovery of various unsaturated impurities is of importance, because they may act as inhibitors when biochemically converting carbohydrates in hydrolysates into value-added products.

The hydrothermal conversion of waste biomass to levulinic acid was investigated in the presence of homogeneous acid catalysts. Different cheap raw materials (poplar sawdust, paper mill sludge, tobacco chops, wheat straw, olive tree pruning) were employed as substrates. The yields of levulinic acid were improved by optimization of the main reaction parameters, such as type and amount of acid catalyst, temperature, duration, biomass concentration, and electrolyte addition. The catalytic performances were also improved by the adoption of microwave irradiation as an efficient heating method, allowing significant energy and time savings. The hydrothermal conversions of inulin and wheat straw were carried out in the presence of niobium phosphate, which up to now have never been employed in these reactions. The preliminary results appeared to be in need of further optimization.

The main objective of this study was the management of corn stalk waste as reinforcement for polypropylene (PP) injection moulded composites as an alternative to wood flour and fibers. In the first step, corn stalk waste was subjected to various treatments, and four different corn stalk derivatives (flour and fibers) able to be used as reinforcement of composite materials were prepared and characterized. These derivatives are corn stalk flour, thermo-mechanical, semi-chemical, and chemical fibers. They were characterized in terms of their yield, lignin content, Kappa number, fiber length/diameter ratio, fines, coarseness, viscosity, and the length at the break of a standard sheet of paper. Results showed that the corn stalk derivatives have different physico-chemical properties. In the second step, the prepared flour and fibers were explored as a reinforcing element for PP composites. Coupled and non-coupled PP composites were prepared and tested for tensile properties. For overall trend, with the addition of a coupling agent, tensile properties of composites significantly improved, as compared with non-coupled samples. In addition, a morphological study revealed the positive effect of the coupling agent on the interfacial bonding. The composites prepared with semichemical fiber gave better results in comparison with the rest of the corn stalk derivatives due to its chemical characteristics.

This study aimed at evaluating the effect of thermo-mechanical treatment on properties of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis wood.Two pressure levels (25% and 50% of the compression strength perpendicular to grain) were evaluated. The treatment was applied in a laboratory hot press in one-step or two-step modes for 50 minutes. In the one-step treatment, the total pressure was applied after the temperature of the center of the wood reached 170°C. In the two-steps treatment, half of the pressure was applied after the center of the wood reached 100°C, and the final pressure was applied when it reached 170°C. The weight loss immediately after treatment was equivalent to the wood moisture content, indicating that degradation of wood polymers did not occur. However, the treatments showed decreasing values of the moisture content, which were reduced from 12.3% to 9.8%. A moderate improvement on surface roughness was achieved, while wood wettability was highly reduced in all treatments, as determined by contact angle measurement. On the other hand, the treatment applied did not improve the wood dimensional stability, but all mechanical properties presented a trend of improvement.

Kraft pulping of hydrolyzed green bamboo (Dendrocalamopsis oldhami) chips was performed under various conditions to determine the effects of process variables (alkali charge, sulfidity, cooking temperature, and cooking time) on the dissolution of the lignocellulosic components, i.e. lignin, pentosans, and cellulose. Meanwhile, the kinetics of kraft delignification of hydrolyzed bamboo was investigated. The results showed that both an increase of alkali charge and sulfidity could result in a clear reduction in kappa number and yield, but the effect of alkali charge was more significant than that of sulfidity. Even though severe conditions were able to purify fiber, the cellulose degradation occurred intensively. Active alkali charge 23%, sulfidity 26%, cooking temperature 170°C, and cooking time 60 min were selected as the optimum conditions for the consideration of selective delignification. As a consequence, the properties of the pulp produced at optimum cooking conditions were determined to be: kappa number 6.3, pentosans 5.0%, a-cellulose 90.2%, and viscosity 30.3 mPa·s. The data analysis confirmed that the reaction order of delignification was approximate to 1.1, and the activity energy of the hydrolyzed bamboo was 53 kJ/mol.