• Advances in materials Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.119-131
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• 2023

The development of sustainable composites materials, from recycled polymeric materials and waste from the wood industry and stone processing, allows reducing the volume of these by-products, minimizing impacts on health and the environment. Nowadays, Polypropylene (PP) is the most recycled polymer in industry, while the furniture industry has increasingly used timber felled from sustainable forest plantations as a eucalypt. The powder tailing from the ornamental stone extraction and processing industry is commonly disposed of in the environment without previous treatment. Thus, the technological option for the development of composite materials presents itself as a sustainable alternative for processing and manufacturing industries, enabling the development of new materials with special technical features. The results showed that powder granite particles may be incorporated into the polypropylene matrix associated with short eucalyptus fibres forming green hybrid composites with potential application in structural engineering, such as transport and civil construction industries.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.120-127
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• 2011

For the development of the environment-friendly insulating composite materials, natural cellulose (wood chip and sawdust) was used as a core material and activated Hwangtoh was used as a binder. Various specimens were prepared with the water/binder ratio and natural cellulose/binder ratio. The physical properties of these specimens were then investigated through compressive and flexural strength test, absorption test, hot water resistance test, thermal conductivity, measurement of pore distribution and observation of micro-structures using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results showed that the absorption ratio increased with the increase of natural cellulose/binder ratio but decreased remarkably with the increase of polymer/binder ratio. The compressive and flexural strength development varied appreciably with the increase of water/binder ratio and natural cellulose/binder ratio. On the other hand, thermal conductivity decreased with the increase of natural cellulose/binder ratio and polymer/binder ratio. Through SEM, it was found that activated Hwangtoh that reacted with water formed a hydrate crystal leading to the compact structure and the total pore volume of the specimen using activated Hwangtoh was smaller than that of the non-activated Hwangtoh.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 2002

The main goal of this study was to analyze the effect of process additives, i.e. maleated polypropylene (MAPP), and nucleating agent on the viscoelastic properties of different types of extruded polypropylene-wood plastic composites manufactured from either PP homopolymer, high crystallinity PP or PP impact copolymer using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. And also, the esterification reaction between wood flour and maleated polypropylene, and its role in determining the mechanical properties of wood flour-polypropylene composites was investigated. The wood plastic composites were manufactured using 60% pine wood flour and 40% polypropylene on a Davis-Standard $Woodtruder^{TM}$. Dynamic mechanical thermal properties, polymer damping peaks(than ${\delta}$), storage modulus (E') and loss modulus (E") were measured using a dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer. XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy), also known as ESCA (Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis) study of wood flour treated with MAPP was performed to obtain information on the chemical nature of wood fiber before and after treatment. To analyze the effect of frequency on the dynamic mechanical properties of the various composites, DMA tests were performed over a temperature range of -20 to $100^{\circ}C$, at four different frequencies (1, 5, 10 and 25 Hz), and at a heating rate of $5^{\circ}C/min$. From these results, the activation energy of the various composite was measured using an Arrhenius relationship to investigate the effect of maleated PP and nucleating agent on the measurement of the interphase between the wood and plastic of the extruded polypropylene wood plastic composites.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2009

We investigated effects of a compatibilizer on the rheological properties during mixing and thermal properties of polypropylene (PP)-natural fiber composites. Two types of natural fibers (cotton fiber and wood fiber) were compared. maleic anhydride grafted PP was used for a compatibilizer. On increasing the amounts of the compatibilizer, the torque values of composites were increased, regardless of the kind of fibers. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results showed a slight increase in the degree of crystallinity with adding the compaibilizing agent, while the effects of the kind of fibers were marginal. It may be considered, however, the cotton fiber exhibits better interaction with PP-g-MAH than the natural fiber based on the rheographs, DSC, and XRD results.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.29-38
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• 2004

In this study, we investigated the thermal properties of corn-starch filled polybutylene succinate-adipate (PBS-AD) bio-composites. Thermal analysis (TA) is used to describe the analytical method for measuring the chemical property and weight loss of composite materials as a function of temperature. The thermal stability of corn-starch was lower than that of pure PBS-AD. As corn-starch loading increased, the thermal stability and degradation temperature of the bio-composites decreased and the ash content increased. It can be seen that the degree of compatibility and interfacial adhesion of the bio-composites decreased because of the increasing mixing ratio of the corn-starch. As the content of corn-starch increased, there was no significant change in the glass transition temperature (T_g) and the melting temperature (T_m) for the bio-composites. The storage modulus (E') and loss modulus (E") of the corn-starch flour filled PBS-AD bio-composites were higher than those of PBS-AD, because of the incorporation of corn-starch increased the stiffness of the bio-composites. At higher temperatures, the decreased storage modulus (E') of bio-composites was due to the increased polymer chain mobility of the matrix polymer. From these results, we can expect that corn-starch has potential as a reinforcing filler for bio-composites. Furthermore, we recommend using a coupling agent to improve the interfacial adhesion between corn-starch and biodegradable polymer.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.6 s.134
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• pp.55-62
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• 2005

This study was conducted to evaluate the application of a bio-composite made by the addition recycled fiber board flour as filler. Recycled fiber board (high density fiber board, HDF) flour was added to polyolefin polymer low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) for the preparation of bio-composite materials. The mechanical properties and processability of the recycled HDF flour filled LDPE and recycled HDF flour filled PP bio-composites were then measured and compared to those of wood flour (WF) and rice-husk flour (RHF) filled LDPE and PP bio-composites, respectively. The tensile and impact strengths of the recycled HDF flour filled LDPE and PP bio-composites had similar mechanical properties to those of the WF and RHF filled LDPE and PP bio-composites. To measure the processability, torques of the bio-composites were also measured. The torques of the HDF flour filled LDPE and PP bio-composites were lower than those of the WF and RHF filled polyolefin (PP and LDPE) bio-composites with a filler loading of 30 wt.%. This result showed definite processability, which was not related with the distribution of the particle size of the material added. The recycled fiber board flour filled bio-composites showed applicability as substitutes for the bio-composites currently used in the bio-composites industry.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.134-147
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• 2022

The objective of this study is to determine the effect of fiber direction arrangement and layer composition of hybrid bamboo laminate boards on the physical and mechanical properties. The raw material used was tali bamboo (Gigantochloa apus (J.A. & J.H. Schultes) Kurs) rope in the form of flat sheets (zephyr) and falcata veneer (Paraserianthes falcataria (L) Nielsen). Zephyr bamboo was arranged in three layers using water-based isocyanate polymer (WBPI) with a glue spread rate of 300 g/m². There were variations in the substitution of the core layer with falcata veneers (hybrid) as much as two layers and using a glue spread rate of 170 g/m². The laminated bamboo board was cold-pressed at a pressure of 22.2 kgf/cm² for 1 h, and the physical and mechanical properties were evaluated. The results showed that the arrangement of the fiber direction significantly affected the dimensional stability, modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, shear strength, and screw withdrawal strength. However, the composition of the layers had no significant effect on the physical and mechanical properties. The bonding quality of bamboo laminate boards with WBPI was considered to be quite good, as shown by the absence of delamination in all test samples. The bamboo hybrid laminate board can be an alternative based on the physical and mechanical properties that can meet laminated board standards.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.197-205
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• 2011

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) with 50~100 nm diameter were manufactured from micro-size cellulose by an application of a high-pressure homogenizer at 1,400 bar. High strength nanopapers were prepared over a filter paper by a vacuum filtration from CNF suspension. After reinforcing and dispersing CNF suspension, hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based composites were tailored by solvent- and film-casting methods, respectively. After 2, 4, 6 and 8 passes through high-pressure homogenizer, the tensile strength of the nanopapers were extremely high and increased linearly depending upon the pass number. Chemical modification of 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecyl-triethoxysilane (PFDTES) on the nanopapers significantly increased the mechanical strength and water repellency. The reinforcement of 1, 3, and 5 wt% CNF to HPC and PVA resins also improved the mechanical properties of the both composites.

• Composites Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.153-160
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• 2022

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) based on wood pulp fibers are gained much attention as part of biocompatible hydrogels for biomedical applications such as tissue engineering scaffolds, biomedicine, and drug carrier. However, CNF hydrogels have relatively poor mechanical properties, impeding their applications requiring high mechanical integrity. In this work, we prepare 2,2,6,6-tetramethylipiperidin-oxyl (TEMPO) oxidated cellulose nanofibrils hydrogels mediated with metal cations, which form the metal-carboxylate coordination bonds for enhanced mechanical strength and toughness. We conduct the large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) test and Live/dead cell assay for obtaining nonlinear viscoelastic parameters and cell viability, respectively. In particular, the cell proliferation and viability change depending on the type of metal salt, which also affected the rheological properties of the hydrogels.