This study describes the in-situ modification of low molar ratio urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins with cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) to improve the poor performance of resins synthesized with different ...methods (Synth 1 and Synth 2) when adding second urea. UF resins were in-situ modified with CNFs dissolved in a mixture of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and dimethylformamide (DMF) during the alkaline reaction step. Results showed that CNF addition enhanced the resin properties, such as shorter gelation time, faster curing rates at low activation energy, higher tensile shear strength (TSS), and lower formaldehyde emission (FE), compared to those of neat resins. The dry and wet TSS values of plywood bonded with UF resins modified with 3% CNFs synthesized using Synth 2 increased by 30% and 42%, respectively, and the FE value was decreased by 22% and 42%, respectively. These results reveal that in-situ modified UF resins with CNFs showed better performance than neat UF resins and that Synth 2 was more favorable than Synth 1.
Traditional wood-based panels are produced with synthetic, formaldehyde-based adhesives, commonly made from fossil-derived constituents, such as urea, phenol, melamine, etc. Along with their numerous ...advantages, such as chemical versatility, high reactivity and excellent adhesive performance, these adhesives are characterized by certain problems, connected with the hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs), mostly free formaldehyde in the adhesives and the formaldehyde emission from the finished wood composites, which is carcinogenic to humans and harmful to the environment. The growing environmental concerns and stringent legislative requirements to the formaldehyde emission from wood-based panels have posed new challenges to researchers and industrial practice, related to the development of sustainable, eco-friendly wood-based panels with close-to-zero formaldehyde emission. The most common methods to reduce the formaldehyde emission from wood-based panels have been to decrease the free formaldehyde in the adhesive by modifying the adhesive (like lowering the molar ratio of formaldehyde to urea in UF resin) or by using formaldehyde scavengers, one group of scavengers being for adhesives by mixing or reacting and the second one scavengers for wood-based panels as post-treatments. Another way is to use alternative bio-based adhesives, however, there are still substantial challenges for the complete replacement of formaldehyde-based adhesives with bio-based adhesives, mainly because of their relatively low bonding strength, poor water resistance, etc. This article presents a review and analysis of the current state of research in the field of low formaldehyde emission wood adhesives and formaldehyde scavengers for manufacturing low-toxic, eco-friendly wood composites.
After cellulose, lignin is the most commonly used natural polymer in green biomaterials. Pulp and paper mills and emerging cellulosic biorefineries are the main sources of technical lignin. However, ...only 2–5% of lignin has been converted into biomaterials. Making lignin-based polymer biocomposites to replace petroleum-based composites has piqued the interest of many researchers worldwide due to the positive environmental impact of traditional composites over time. In composite development, lignin is being used as a filler in commercial polymers to improve biodegradability and possibly lower production costs. As a natural polymer, lignin may have different properties depending on the isolation method and source, affecting polymer-based composites. The application has been affected by the characteristics of lignin and the uniform distribution of lignin in polymers. The review’s goal was to provide an overview of technical lignin extraction, properties, and its potential appropriate utilization. It was also planned to revisit the lignin-based composites’ preparation procedure as well as their composite characteristics. Solvent casting and extrusion methods are used to fabricate lignin from polymeric matrices such as polypropylene, epoxy, polyvinyl alcohol, polylactic acid, starch, wood fiber, natural rubber, and chitosan. Packaging, biomedical materials, automotive, advanced biocomposites, flame retardant, and other applications for lignin-based composites has existed. As a result, the technology is still being refined to increase the performance of lignin-based biocomposites in several applications. This review could assist explain lignin’s position as a composite additive, which could lead to more efficient processing and application strategies.
This study is aiming of developing eco-friendly wood adhesive based on oxidized starch (OS) modified by nanoclay to enhance their adhesion and no formaldehyde emission. Two types of nanoclay such as ...pristine-bentonite (P-BNT) and transition metal ion modified-pristine-bentonite (TMI-P-BNT) at three levels (i.e., 1, 3, and 5%) were used for the modification of OS adhesive. Basic properties, chemical properties and thermal properties of the modified OS adhesives were examined with various analysis techniques to understand the influence of nanoclay modification on OS polymer. As the nanoclay level increased, the modified OS adhesives had greater solids content and viscosity but the gelation time decreased, indicating a faster curing of the modified OS adhesive. X-Ray diffraction of the modified OS adhesives resulted in a decrease in the 2θ value and enlarged
d
-spacing value, showing that the nanoclay had been intercalated within OS polymer molecules. Two peaks at 526 cm
−1
and 461 cm
−1
detected by FTIR were assigned to Si–O–Al and Si–O–Si vibrations, respectively, and confirmed the presence of nanoclay in the OS polymer. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the added nanoclay improved thermal stability of OS adhesives. The modified OS adhesives with 5% TMI-P-BNT enhanced their adhesion strength from 0.9 to 1.25 MPa, and resulted in free formaldehyde emission (near to 0.01 mg/L) from plywood panel. These results indicated that the modification of OS adhesives with 5% TMI-P-BNT could be used as bio-based and environmentally friendly plywood adhesive with zero formaldehyde emission.
Lignins are the most important aromatic renewable natural resource today, serving as a sustainable, environmentally acceptable alternative feedstock to fossil‐derived chemicals and polymers in a vast ...scope of value‐added applications. Lignin is a biopolymeric molecule that, together with cellulose, is a fundamental component of higher vascular plants structural cell walls. It can be extracted from by‐products of the pulp and paper industries, agricultural waste and residues, and biorefinery products. Lignin properties may vary depending on source and extraction method with carbon and aromatic as the main compositions in lignin structure. These rich compositions make lignin more valuable, allowing for the creation of high‐value‐added green composites. However, the complex structure of lignin creates low reactivity to interact with crosslinker, and hence chemical modification is substantial to overcome this problem. This review aimed to present and discuss lignin structure, variation of lignin chemical properties regarding its source and extraction process, recent advances in chemical modification of lignin to enhance its reactivity, and potential applications of modified lignin for manufacturing value‐added biocomposites with enhanced properties and lower environmental impact, such as food handling/packaging, seed coating, automotive devices, 3D printing, rubber industry, and wood adhesives.
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Thermosetting urea–formaldehyde (UF) resins as the most common adhesives for wood-based composites emit formaldehyde, which forces producers to lower formaldehyde/urea (F/U) molar ...ratio for the UF resins synthesis. However, low-molar-ratio (below 1.0) UF resins have low formaldehyde emission at the expense of poor adhesion, which is responsible for the formation of crystalline domains as a result of hydrogen bonds between linear molecules. For the first time, this study reports the conversion of crystalline UF resins to amorphous polymers by blocking the hydrogen bonds, using transition metal ion-modified bentonite (TMI-BNT) nanoclay through in situ intercalation. The modified UF resins with 5% TMI-BNT showed an almost amorphous structure, faster curing and higher cross-linking density compared with those of neat resins, and resulted in 56.4% increase in the adhesion strength and 48.3% reduction in the formaldehyde emission. Thus, blocking hydrogen bonds in low F/U molar ratio UF resins with TMI-BNT converted crystalline UF resins to almost amorphous ones, resulting in a significant improvement in their adhesion with a low crystallinity.
Over the last 50 years, the use of wood adhesives in the manufacturing of wood-based panel goods has increased the efficiency of wood resources. Wood adhesives are becoming more popular as the need ...for wood-based panels grows. By 2028, the global market for wood adhesives is expected to reach 21.8 billion dollars. Even though urea-formaldehyde (UF), phenol-formaldehyde (PF), melamine-formaldehyde (MF), phenol-resorcinol-formaldehyde (PRF), and resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resins are excellent in terms of bonding performance, workability, quality, and economy, they consist of harmful or toxic chemical agents derived from fossil resources, which make their application severely limited. This review aims to go through the most significant ‘green’ wood adhesives for manufacturing high-performance wood-based panels, such as lignin, tannin, protein, natural rubber, emulsion polymer isocyanate (EPI), 1C PUR polyurethane (for glue-laminated wood and cross-laminated timber), PMDI (for particleboards, medium-density and low-density fiberboards), carboxylic acid, and vegetable oil. The physical and mechanical characteristics of bio-based wood adhesives, as well as the development of sustainable, greener, and high-performance bio-based wood adhesives, are discussed in this work. Original research papers and review articles are among the most important sources since they provide complete information on the most recent developments in sustainable, eco-friendly, and high-performance bio-based wood adhesives.
Biocomposites reinforced with natural fibers represent an eco-friendly and inexpensive alternative to conventional petroleum-based materials and have been increasingly utilized in a wide variety of ...industrial applications due to their numerous advantages, such as their good mechanical properties, low production costs, renewability, and biodegradability. However, these engineered composite materials have inherent downsides, such as their increased flammability when subjected to heat flux or flame initiators, which can limit their range of applications. As a result, certain attempts are still being made to reduce the flammability of biocomposites. The combustion of biobased composites can potentially create life-threatening conditions in buildings, resulting in substantial human and material losses. Additives known as flame-retardants (FRs) have been commonly used to improve the fire protection of wood and biocomposite materials, textiles, and other fields for the purpose of widening their application areas. At present, this practice is very common in the construction sector due to stringent fire safety regulations on residential and public buildings. The aim of this study was to present and discuss recent advances in the development of fire-resistant biocomposites. The flammability of wood and natural fibers as material resources to produce biocomposites was researched to build a holistic picture. Furthermore, the potential of lignin as an eco-friendly and low-cost FR additive to produce high-performance biocomposites with improved technological and fire properties was also discussed in detail. The development of sustainable FR systems, based on renewable raw materials, represents a viable and promising approach to manufacturing biocomposites with improved fire resistance, lower environmental footprint, and enhanced health and safety performance.
In this work, a novel way is proposed to produce an eco‐friendly and formaldehyde‐free particleboard (PB) panel from agro‐industrial residues bonded with natural rubber latex (NRL)‐based adhesive. ...Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) was added as an adhesion promoter and polymeric 4,4‐methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (pMDI) was used as cross‐linker. Different formulations of agro‐industrial residues (cassava stem, sengon wood waste, and rice husk) and different contents of NRL‐adhesive (10%, 15%, and 20%) were applied to prepare the PB panel. Several techniques were performed to characterize the properties of NRL‐based adhesive and to evaluate the performance of PB panels from agro‐industrial residues bonded with NRL‐based adhesive. The blending of NRL and PVOH resulted in weak hydrogen bonds in the polymer blends. Incorporation of pMDI provided NCO groups as the reactive site for cross‐linking with NRL‐PVOH via urethane linkages. The results showed that no remarkable differences in the physical properties of the PB panel, such as density, moisture content, water absorption, and thickness swelling, with different agro‐industrial residues formulations and NRL‐adhesive content. By contrast, greater NRL‐adhesive content affected the mechanical properties of the PB panel. The best mechanical properties of the PB panel were obtained using a formulation of 40% of cassava stem, 30% of sengon wood waste, 30% of rice husk, and bonded with 20% of NRL‐adhesive content, which resulted in 4.02 MPa of modulus of rupture (MOR), 441.00 MPa of modulus of elasticity (MOE), and 0.19 MPa of internal bonding (IB) strength. A combination of agro‐industrial residues particles and NRL‐based adhesive presented a high potential for application as an eco‐friendly, formaldehyde‐free, and non‐structural PB such as interior applications.
Particleboard panels with the best mechanical properties of the particleboard (PB) panel were obtained at type A of PB bonded with 20% natural rubber latex (NRL)‐adhesive, which had 4.02 MPa of modulus of rupture (MOR), 441.00 MPa of MOE, and 0.19 MPa of IB strength. This work showed that a PB panel could be produced using a formulation of 40% of cassava stem, 30% of sengon wood waste, 30% of rice husk, and bonded with 20% of NRL‐adhesive content.