Improving the environmental performance of resins in wood treatment by using renewable chemicals has been a topic of interest for a long time. At the same time, lignin, the second most abundant ...biomass on earth, is produced in large scale as a side product and mainly used energetically. The use of lignin in wood adhesives or for wood modification has received a lot of scientific attention. Despite this, there are only few lignin-derived wood products commercially available. This review provides a summary of the research on lignin application in wood adhesives, as well as for wood modification. The research on the use of uncleaved lignin and of cleavage products of lignin is reviewed. Finally, the current state of the art of commercialization of lignin-derived wood products is presented.
Seagrass wracks, the remains of dead leaves accumulated on seashores, are important ecosystems and beneficial for the marine environment. Their presence on the touristic beaches, however, is a ...problem for the tourism industry due to the lack of aesthetics and safety reasons. At the present time, seagrass leaves are landfilled, although this is not considered an ecological waste management practice. Among other proposed practices for more sustainable and environmentally friendly management, such as composting and biogas or energy generation, in this study we aim to use seagrass leaves for the production of insulation materials. Insulation boards from two types of seagrass leaves (Posidonia oceanica and Zostera marina) at densities varying from 80 to 200 kg m−3 were prepared and their physical and mechanical properties were examined and compared to those of wood fiber insulation boards. The thermal conductivity of seagrass-based insulation boards varied from 0.042 to 0.050 W m−1 K−1, which was up to 12% lower compared to the latter. The cone calorimetry analysis revealed that seagrass-based insulation boards are more fire resistant than those from wood fibers, as they release very low amounts of heat during combustion and do not ignite when exposed to a single flame (Bunsen burner). A simplified cost analysis showed that insulation boards made from seagrass leaves can be up to 30% cheaper compared to those made from wood fibers. After their end of life, seagrass leaves can again be considered a valuable resource and be further utilized by adopting other management strategies.
Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites (NFPCs) provide the customers with more alternatives in the material market due to their unique advantages. Poor fiber–matrix interfacial adhesion may, ...however, negatively affect the physical and mechanical properties of the resulting composites due to the surface incompatibility between hydrophilic natural fibers and non-polar polymers (thermoplastics and thermosets). A variety of silanes (mostly trialkoxysilanes) have been applied as coupling agents in the NFPCs to promote interfacial adhesion and improve the properties of composites. This paper reviews the recent progress in using silane coupling agents for NFPCs, summarizes the effective silane structures from the silane family, clarifies the interaction mechanisms between natural fibers and polymer matrices, and presents the effects of silane treatments on the mechanical and outdoor performance of the resulting composites.
The purpose of this review is to put previous research findings on acetylated wood and the fabrication of veneer-based products in a common context. The first research on wood acetylation was already ...conducted in the 1920s using wood meal, whereas relevant research on veneer acetylation was published nearly two decades later, during the 1940s. In the years that followed, a great deal of research has been done on both solid wood and composite acetylation. Developments in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in the creation of commercial products. Nowadays, wood is becoming increasingly popular in construction. Therefore, high-performance materials with high dimensional stability and durability are required. Veneers are thereby of particular relevance because of their propensity to absorb chemicals into even tough-to-treat wood species. However, acetylation alters the bonding properties of wood, which is important for the manufacture of engineered veneer products, especially in load-bearing construction. A large amount of research is now being conducted on the acetylation of veneer, and acetylated veneer products are anticipated in the near future. This study covers the fundamentals of bonding but focuses specifically on veneer acetylation and its fabrication to engineered veneer-based products. The influencing factors of acetylation on bonding are also discussed.
The dead seagrass leaves accumulated on the seashores, also known as beach (seagrass) wracks, can be considered a sustainable and ecologically beneficial source for application in the construction ...sector. An innovative thermal insulation material composed of Zostera marina seagrass leaves was developed using bicomponent fibers as a binding agent. The bicomponent fibers consisted of polypropylene in the core and polyethylene in the sheath. This work aimed to investigate the effect of mat density on mechanical properties (compression and internal bond strength), thermal conductivity and fire properties. The seagrass-based (SG) mats were compared to reference mats consisting of wood fibers (WF). The digital and scanning electron microscopy investigation revealed the differences in the bonding mechanism between the two types of mats. Although slightly higher than WF mats, the thermal conductivity of SG mats still varied from 0.039 to 0.051 W m
−1
K
−1
and is comparable to those of other natural fiber-based boards with the same density range. The low peak heat release of SG mats (up to 63% lower than wood fiber-based mats) indicates their high resistance to fire. SG mats provide novel possibilities for using new environmentally friendly materials intended for ceiling and partition applications.
Wood is usually stable under relatively dry conditions but may still undergo slow deterioration. The type of deterioration and how these processes affect the wood are important questions that need ...consideration if old wooden structures are to be studied and properly preserved. The aim of this paper is to establish the main structural and morphological differences between new and naturally aged European spruce (~ 150–200 years) and silver fir wood (~ 150 years). Naturally aged European spruce (a) was sourced from an outdoor part of a building constructed in the seventeenth century and naturally aged European spruce (b) were obtained from a furniture item located in a historical building from the eighteenth century. The principal age-induced changes in fir are the degradation of C–O and C=O groups in hemicellulose, according to the FTIR analysis. Degradation of cellulose and hemicelluloses was observed for spruce, with a greater effect seen in the indoor aged sample. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that after aging C–C/C–H peaks were smaller in the spruce and fir samples, while C–O and O–C–O peaks were larger. The crystallinity index (CrI) obtained by X-ray diffraction showed that due to weathering the CrI of naturally aged spruce (a) increased compared to the new wood. The CrI of the aged spruce (b) and aged fir was lower than in the new woods. The ratios for the spruce sample, which aged indoors, were higher than those for the one aged outdoors. According to the observations made in this study, hemicellulose and cellulose are easily degraded under environmental conditions.
This study presents an unexplored method to produce formaldehyde-free MDF. Steam exploded
L. (STEX-AD) and untreated wood fibers (WF) were mixed at different mixing rates (0/100, 50/50, and 100/0, ...respectively) and two series of boards were manufactured, with 4 wt% of pMDI, based on dry fibers, and self-bonded. The mechanical and physical performance of the boards was analyzed as a function of the adhesive content and the density. The mechanical performance and dimensional stability were determined by following European standards. The material formulation and the density of the boards had a significant effect on both mechanical and physical properties. The boards made solely of STEX-AD were comparable to those made with pMDI, while the panels made of WF without adhesive were those that performed the worst. The STEX-AD showed the ability to reduce the TS for both pMDI-bonded and self-bonded boards, although leading to a high WA and a higher short-term absorption for the latter. The results presented show the feasibility of using STEX-AD in the manufacturing of self-bonded MDF and the improvement of dimensional stability. Nonetheless, further studies are needed especially to address the enhancement of the internal bond (IB).
In the development of new materials, the focus nowadays is increasingly on their relevance with regard to lightweight construction or environmental compatibility. The idea of a lightweight sandwich ...panel was inspired by an increasing number of cosmetic accessories that use the fibers of the loofah plant, a rapidly renewable, light, fibrous raw material. The aim of the study was to develop a fiber composite panel based on the fibers of the loofah plant (Luffa cylindrica) as core material and wooden veneer as the skin layer to be used in areas of lead construction. Three different panel variations were produced for the tests, with a fiber–adhesive ratio between 1:1.05, 1:0.8, and 1:0.5. The mechanical strength (flexural strength and internal bond) and the physical properties (density and thickness swelling) were determined as a function of the fiber–adhesive composition. The results show that the flexural strength increased by approx. 400% and the thickness swelling was reduced by 10% with increasing adhesive quantity.
The mode of action of phenol-formaldehyde (PF)-modified wood has been investigated with respect to its resistance to brown rot decay. The Fenton reaction is assumed to play a key role in the initial ...brown rot decay. Pine microveneers were modified to various weight percent gains (WPG) with low molecular weight PF and exposed to a solution containing Fenton’s reagent. The mass loss (ML) and tensile strength loss (TSL) as well as the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide within the incubation time decreased with the increasing WPG of the veneers. Incubation of untreated and PF-modified veneers in acetate buffer containing ferric ions without H
revealed that the modification strongly reduces the uptake of iron by the wood cell wall. Further studies indicated that lignin promotes the decay of wood by Fenton’s reagent. The reason for the enhanced resistance of modified wood to the Fenton reaction is attributable to the impeded diffusion of iron ions into the cell wall rather than to the blocking of free phenolic sites of lignin, which accelerate redox cycling of iron.
Cleavage by microwave-assisted pyrolysis is a way to obtain higher-value organic chemicals from technical lignins. In this report, pine kraft lignin (PKL), spruce and beech organosolv lignin (SOSL ...and BOSL), and calcium lignosulfonates from spruce wood (LS) were pyrolyzed at temperatures between 30 and 280 °C using vacuum low-temperature, microwave-assisted pyrolysis. The mass balance, energy consumption, condensation rate, and pressure changes of the products during the pyrolysis process were recorded. Phenolic condensates obtained at different temperatures during pyrolysis were collected, and their chemical composition was determined by GC-MS and GC-FID. The origin of the technical lignin had a significant influence on the pyrolysis products. Phenolic condensates were obtained in yields of approximately 15% (PKL and SOSL) as well as in lower yields of 4.5% (BOSL) or even 1.7% (LS). The main production of the phenolic condensates for the PKL and SOSL occurred at temperatures of approximately 140 and 180 °C, respectively. The main components of the phenolic fraction of the three softwood lignins were guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol, 4-ethylguaiacol, and other guaiacol derivatives; however, the quantity varied significantly depending on the lignin source. Due to the low cleavage temperature vacuum, low-temperature, microwave-assisted pyrolysis could be an interesting approach to lignin conversion.
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