Treesearch

Lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) from renewable lignocelluloses can be a valuable building block for a variety of applications and could contribute to the economic development in rural agricultural communities. Current technologies for producing LNPs are not cost effective and use toxic solvents. In this study, LNPs were produced by fractionating poplar wood at ≤80°C with a recyclable hydrotrope p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TsOH) in an aqueous system. The dissolved lignin was separated as LNPs simply by diluting the spent liquor (SL) to the minimal hydrotrope concentration (HCmin) of 11.5%. The...

This paper examined the effect of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) content on water vapor permeability (WVP) and oxygen permeability (OP) of extrusion-blown poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films recorded at various temperatures and relative humidities. While both WVP and OP followed the Arrhenius equation, the WVP decreased with increasing temperature whereas an opposite trend was observed for OP, resulting in negative activation energy (Ep) for WVP but positive Ep for OP, regardless of CNC content. However, the Ep for both WVP and OP increased by adding CNC into PLA matrix. WVP was not affected by the...

Thermo-chemical pretreatments of biomass typically result in environmental impacts from water use and emission. The degradation byproducts in the resulting sugars can be inhibitory to the activities of enzymes and yeasts. The results of this study showed that combining existing commercial comminution technology can reduce total energy consumption with improved saccharification yield while eliminating chemical use. Impact mill was found to be the most efficient milling for size reduction of forest residual chips from ca. 2mm to a specific value below 100 μm. The further micronization...

Fine wood powders have advantages over traditional coarse wood particles for various emerging applications. However, an efcient system to produce fne wood powders has not been well established. We investigated the comminution capability and efciency of a two-stage grinding system consisting of a hammer mill circuit and an rotor impact mill circuit to convert wood feedstocks into fne powders. Air-dried forest harvest residuals were comminuted by the hammer mill circuit to three intermediate product sizes with geometric mean particle sizes of 1618, 669, and 316 μm. These intermediate...

A three-stage wood milling process was investigated leading to coarse, fine and amorphization of milled wood (MW) as a pretreatment for enzymatic wood hydrolysis. An eccentric vibratory tube mill (EVTM) and a spring suspended vibratory tube mill (SSVTM) were found to be suitable for wood cellulose amorphization. Both methods gave rise to highly digestible and amorphous wood powders amenable to enzymatic hydrolysis. The SSVTM had superior energy efficiency. The resulting MW afforded a 70% sugar yield via enzymatic hydrolysis and the total energy consumption was around 1.5 kWh kg−1 oven-dried...

Although formaldehyde emissions from interior wood products have been extensively studied, emissions of other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have received less attention, and engineered products are seldom study. Thus, thirteen commercially–bonded engineered wood products (structural plywood, oriented strandboard, structural composite lumber, I–joists, and glued–laminated timber) from North America were evaluated for VOCs using methods developed for interior bonded wood products. The dominate volatiles for the different products were greatly dependent on wood species and bonding process...

The yeast microorganisms associated with Camponotus vicinus are discussed. Experiments where worker ants and larvae were fed holidic or nutrient deficient diets and then exposed to the yeast, Debaryomyces polymorphus showed that pupal weight was sometimes positively affected by exposure to D. polymorphus. It is speculated that the yeast may aid in more efficient assimilation of nutrients when fed nutrient-deficient diets, particularly diets lacking sterols.

Plant-derived cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) have shown reinforcing effects in polymer nanocomposites. However, freeze-dried CNFs are foam-like material, namely aerogel, that are challenging to disperse in a polymer matrix. In this work, a liquid infusion process was developed for a CNF/epoxy nanocomposite cross-linked foam structure with alterable properties without damaging the foam structure. Microstructures of CNF/epoxy composite foams with different formulations were evaluated using a scanning electron microscope. Surface morphology showed that the CNF cross-linked fibers were well...

Storage is the critical operation within the biomass supply chain to reduce feedstock supply risks and to manage smooth year-around operations of a biorefinery or a bioenergy plant. This paper analyzed the economic and environmental impacts of four different biomass storage systems for woodchips (Outdoor-open, Outdoor-tarped, Indoor, and Silo) and two systems for pellets (Indoor and Silo). Storage cost includes the costs for handling (including ventilation in case of silo storage), infrastructure investment, and dry matter loss (DML) for each system. The estimation of total greenhouse gas...

Statistical process control (SPC) is an important strategy for manufacturing organizations seeking improved profitability in highly competitive businesses such as the treated wood industry. SPC is a well-established methodology that focuses on reducing variation of key process parameters. Such variation reduction can result in lower manufacturing costs, improved product quality, and enhanced environmental stewardship. This paper outlines a protocol for establishing SPC for the treated-wood industry.