Abstract
Lignin was isolated from wood wastes comprising Iroko sawdust (IR) and mixed sawdust from Iroko and Norway spruce (IRNS), furnished by a local wood houses producer. The respective acidolysis lignin fractions were structurally characterized using pyrolysis (Py)-GCMS, two-dimensional heteronuclear single quantum correlation nuclear magnetic resonance (2D HSQC NMR), Fourier-transform infrared FTIR and ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopies, size exclusion chromatography, and standard wet-chemistry methods for Klason lignin and polysaccharides determination. The isolated lignin fractions were subsequently used for the preparation of lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) using a non-solvent method. LNPs were then used for wood surface treatment using a dip-coating technique. The coated wood samples were analyzed by colorimetry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before and after artificial weathering experiments in a UV chamber to investigate the UV protection potential of the LNPs coatings. Wood samples dip-coated with LNPs showed promising surface modifications resembling a sort of film of fused LNPs. Coatings made from IR-LNPs and IRNS-LNPs performed significantly better in artificial weathering experiments than uncoated reference samples.
Highlights
In addition to playing a structural role in higher plants, lignin provides a protective shield against weathering effects, via making cell walls hydrophobic and preventing their swelling in wet conditions, and against the attack of pathogens by creating a compact lignified wood tissue non-penetrable by microorganisms [1,2]
Lignin was isolated from wood wastes comprising Iroko sawdust (IR) and mixed sawdust from Iroko and Norway spruce (IRNS), furnished by a local wood houses producer
Coatings made from IR-lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) and IRNS-LNPs performed significantly better in artificial weathering experiments than uncoated reference samples
Summary
In addition to playing a structural role in higher plants, lignin provides a protective shield against weathering effects, via making cell walls hydrophobic and preventing their swelling in wet conditions, and against the attack of pathogens by creating a compact lignified wood tissue non-penetrable by microorganisms [1,2]. Consumption of the protective shield over time could be encountered with regeneration of the coatings by repeated applications of the product based on widely available lignin Wood wastes such as sawdust are generated as a side-stream in saw mills at amounts of around 50% of processed timber and are currently used mostly for energy generation with revenues as low as 26 € per ton of wood biomass [14]. These byproducts represent two parallel waste streams in the respective production processes of an Italian wood houses producer (Pagano Costruzioni in Legno, Rome, Italy) where laminated timber from Norway spruce is superficially finished with Iroko sawn timber to improve its durability, shorten maintenance periods as well as for static and esthetic reasons. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting on the use of pure LNPs dispersions as a single agent for wood-protection applications against weathering
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