Abstract
The benefit of using a combination of alkali pre-treatment and ball milling in processing hardwood particles into biocomposites via equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was demonstrated. The penetration of bonding additives (polyethyleneimine and tannic acid) into hardwood structures was enhanced by the pre-treatment, resulting in plasticization and cross-linking derived from the additives during the particle processing. A significant improvement in the biocomposites’ mechanical properties was obtained, reaching flexural strength of 28–29 MPa and flexural modulus of 3650 MPa, comparable to those displayed by commercial wood fiberboard using thermosetting resins as the binding agent. This adds to the promise of developing biocomposites from industrial or agricultural waste through the simple and efficient ECAP technology in conjunction with common pre-treatment methodologies for wood particles.
Highlights
IntroductionThe enormous carbon footprint associated with the plastic life cycle is represented by a large amount of carbon dioxide rapidly released into the environment [1,2]
During the last 2–3 decades, a rapid expansion of scientific research has been occurring in developing bio-based materials to address environmental issues caused by using plastics produced from fossil resources such as petroleum and natural gas [1]
We have demonstrated that equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) is a new promising methodology to process bio-based polymer powders into bulk materials at relatively low temperatures [9,10]
Summary
The enormous carbon footprint associated with the plastic life cycle is represented by a large amount of carbon dioxide rapidly released into the environment [1,2] Some plastics such as polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) can be recycled and reused [3], the detrimental environmental impact has been well recognized, and exploring bio-based polymers from renewable biomass feedstocks is considered as a long-term alternative [1]. Thermal extrusion, injection molding, or thermal forming can be used to produce wood-plastic composites when a thermoplastic polymer is used as a continuous matrix, and the thermal processability relies on melting the thermoplastic It would be limited by lignocellulose’s thermal properties, which would experience thermal decomposition before melting [6]. The microstructures, intermolecular interactions between various components, mechanical properties, and thermal stability of the biocomposites were investigated and correlated in order to achieve a good understanding of the relationship between processing conditions and material structures/properties
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