Heat-treated wood is widely used for outdoor furniture manufacturing. However, it is susceptible to against physical degradation such as cracking and discoloration. This study involved heat-treated wood at three different temperatures of 180 degrees C, 200 degrees C and 220 degrees C was acetylated using vacuum-pressure impregnation methods to enhance photostability, dimensional and thermal stability. The laboratory chromaticity data indicated a substantial enhancement of the photostability of the acetylated heat-treated wood. The color difference was reduced from 11.89 to 10.08 for the 180 degrees C treatment, then from 10.24 to 9.02 for the 200 degrees C treatment, and from 8.31 to 8.11 for the 220 degrees C treatment compared to unmodified wood at the same temperature. The microstructure analysis and chemical composition study suggested that the hydroxyl groups were greatly reduced, rendering the microstructure and chemical composition of wood relatively stable. In addition, the results of water contact angle, water absorption, swelling and shrinking data show that acetylated wood exhibits lower hydrophilicity and greater dimensional stability. Thermo-gravimetric analysis reveals that acetylated wood maintained better thermal stability, as evidenced by the greater maximum temperature for thermal degradation. The weathering resistance of heat-treated wood was significantly improved by acetylation treatment.

This study employed time domain nuclear magnetic resonance by using inversion recovery and Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill pulse sequences to identify the relaxation properties of bound water in elm and pine wood under various relative humidity levels. Results showed that the sizes of micropores and mesopores in elm and pine increased with water accumulation. Furthermore, the sizes of micropores and mesopores in sapwood were larger than those in heartwood of both elm and pine wood. Hydroxyl bound water (OH bound water) molecules were tightly bound to the primary sorption sites of the polymers. More freely bound water occupied the void spaces between microfibrils within the cell wall. Elm wood exhibited higher T 1 /T 2 ratios for bound water than pine, suggesting that elm had less mobility than pine. Moreover, OH bound water exhibited higher T 1 /T 2 ratios than more freely bound water in pine and elm, indicating greater molecular mobility constraints and stronger interactions with the wood polymer. Notably, OH bound water mobility increased significantly with water accumulation.

Class learning outcomes (CLOs) supporting the interdisciplinary curriculum of the School of Packaging (SoP) at Michigan State University (MSU) were mapped to competency-based, programmatic learning outcomes (CPLOs) undergirded by broad learning goals of the University (MSU-LGs). Six CPLOs related to the core curriculum, including the ability to design and evaluate packaging systems, as well as students' professionalism and teamwork skills, were developed using consensus building with all teaching faculty. Relationships, from specific to broad (i.e., CLOs to CPLOs to MSU-LGs), were mapped with the SoP faculty. This mapping scheme (class-specific CLOs supporting broader program CPLOs and, ultimately, MSU-LGs) was developed to guarantee alignment of expectations for learning from the course to the packaging program to the MSU-LGs. From Fall 2018 until Fall 2019, assessment tools, including rubrics and assignments intended to evaluate learning, were developed to assess core and elective courses offered by the SoP. Data collection of each student's performance was conducted utilizing Watermark's VIA software from Fall 2018 until Fall 2021 and continuous. Assessment of student performance provided evidence of learning across the SoP curriculum as well as how CLOs, delivered and assessed at the individual student level, translate into competence achieved at the programmatic and university levels.

Due to the health and environmental concerns, residential usage of copper chrome arsenate (CCA) and similar other heavy metal-based wood preservatives has been restricted in many countries. Waterborne micronized copper formulations of micron-sized particles containing copper- and some biocides are being used on commercial scale to improve the biological durability of various nondurable timber species. In the present work, different concentrations of micronized copper azole (MCA) were used to vacuum-pressure treat the plantation grown non-durable Melia dubia Cav. sapwood. The same species was also treated with CCA and water to be able to compare the efficacy of the treatments. Effect of impregnation of different MCA concentrations (0.5–2.0

Biodegradable food packaging provides an environmentally-conscious alternative to plastic food packaging options. This study investigated whey protein edible films containing 10-40 g xylan/100 g whey protein isolate (WPI). Transglutaminase (TG) was used as a cross-linking agent in WPI-only and 40 g xylan/100 g WPI films. The food packaging properties investigated were water vapor permeability (WVP), oxygen permeability (OP), tensile stress, and % elongation at break. Thermal properties were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Crystallinity and microstructure were assessed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Composite films containing 40 g xylan/100 g WPI that were also treated with TG showed the greatest improvement in properties important to food packaging. Compared to the WPI-only control films, WVP decreased from 6.41 to 3.89 g mm/m(2) day kPa (p < 0.05), OP decreased from 21.85 to 7.32 cc mu m/m(2) day kPa (p < 0.05), and tensile stress increased from 6.73 MPa to 15.96 MPa (p < 0.05). The % elongation at break decreased significantly from 12.5% in WPI-only films to 5.8-1.4% in all xylan and TG treated films (p < 0.05). The temperature of melting increased from 121 degrees C in control films to a maximum of 166 degrees C in the 20 g xylan/100 g WPI films, indicating increased intermolecular strength. Film microstructure showed separate organization of xylan within films. Crystallinity was identified with increasing xylan content through XRD analysis, suggesting increased polymer packing.

In this paper, we have synthesized the two-dimensional (2D) MXene layers and acid activated carbon (AAC) into a 3D conductive network structure, which could prevent the serious aggregation of 2D MXene layers. Two-dimensional MXene furnishes a new perspective and possibility to assemble flexible and conductive electrodes without any current collector, binders, or conductive additives when applied to energy storage devices. In the 3D conductive network architecture, the AAC particles are enclosed by the MXene flakes and enlarge the interlamellar spacing of MXene and considerably improve the electrochemical performance. The flexible MXene/AAC 2:1 electrode exhibits a high specific capacity (378 F g(-1) at 0.5 A g(-1)). Also, MXene/AAC 2:1 electrode shows an excellent capacitance retention (88.9% at 30 A g(-1)). In addition, the MXene/AAC compounds with different mass ratios used as positive electrodes and AAC used as the negative electrode to assemble asymmetrical supercapacitors exhibit exceptional electrochemical performances. The MXene/AAC 2:1//AAC achieves a high specific capacity (177 F g(-1) at 0.5 A g(-1)) and an excellent capacitance retention (97.4% retention after 10 000 cycles). Impressively, the 3D conductive network structure of MXene/AAC compounds achieved noteworthy adsorption capacity (311.5 mg/g) to remove methylene blue (MB).

Certain important quality parameters of red maple (Acer rubrum) laminated veneer lumber (LVL) impregnated with three waterborne formulations: copper azole (CA-B), micronized copper azole (MicroCA or MCA) and alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ-D) bonded with phenol formaldehyde or cross-linked polyvinyl acetate (XPVAc) adhesives were evaluated. Pre-dipping of veneers before LVL production and two post-manufacturing procedures, viz., vacuum-pressure and post-dipping of LVL, were applied. Maximum copper retention in pre-dip-treated, vacuum-pressure and post-dip-treated LVL was 1.4, 9.7 and 1.7 kg/m3, respectively. Copper retention in MCA-treated LVL was relatively lower than soluble formulations. Various physical, mechanical and bonding properties of treated LVL such as density, water absorption, swelling, flexural properties, hardness, tensile shear strength, delamination and wood failure (%) were studied and compared with untreated LVL. Little to negligible deleterious effect was observed on properties of LVL due to these chemical treatments. Analysis of variance results showed that most of properties of red maple LVL were not significantly different compared with those of untreated LVL. Therefore, vacuum-pressure impregnation process can be used to treat the red maple LVL with novel micronized copper formulations for increasing the service life of such products against biodegradation without affecting techno-mechanical quality parameters.

Two formulations of wood preservative one containing water-dispersible copper naphthenate (CuN) alone and in combination with sodium fluoride (NaF) were used to treat southern pine sapwood blocks to determine the effect of the addition of sodium fluoride in the QNS on the protection against wood decay fungi using laboratory soil block tests following AWPA (American Wood protection Association) standard E10-16 [American Wood Protection Association AWPA-E10. (2016) Laboratory Method for Evaluating the Decay Resistance of Wood-based Materials Against Pure Basidiomycete Cultures: Soil/Block Test]. The standard consists in exposing treated blocks to pure monoculture of white rot (Irpex lacteus (FP-105915) and Trametes versicolor (R-105)) and brown rot fungi (Gloeophyllum trabeum (Madison 617) and Postia placenta (Madison 698) during a specific period. The weight loss (WL) in percentage of treated blocks was used as an indicator of the biological performance of treated blocks against basidiomycetes at specific retentions. Minimum WL was obtained with blocks treated with the formulation containing mixture of QNS and sodium fluoride with the retention of 0.29 kg/m(3) Cu and 0.51 kg/m(3) of fluorine in treated blocks. A copper retention of 1.65 kg/m(3) from blocks treated with formulations containing only QNS was needed to obtain similar WL to blocks containing blocks Cu++ and F- (fluorine). The lower Cu retention is attributed to a combination of the presence of the fluorine with some toxic activities against bacteria and decay and the interaction of anions fluorine and ionic Cu (II) in the aqueous treating solutions to form more soluble biological toxic hydrate of copper fluoride ((H2O Cu (II) F2) in treated blocks compared to copper complexes less biological available in water-dispersible CuN-treated bocks.

Excessive use of synthetic nondegradable polymers has led to the proliferation of microplastics in the oceans as well as polluted landscapes. Herein, we report a new sustainable approach for the development of oil- and water-resistant paper. Chitosan-graft-poly-(dimethylsiloxane) (CHI-g-PDMS) copolymers were prepared by the reaction of poly-(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) with chitosan. The CHI-g-PDMS graft copolymer was characterized by H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. Zein, a coproduct of the bioethanol industry, was blended with CHI-g-PDMS in a water/ethanol solution and subsequently applied as a coating on an unbleached Kraft paper. The coated paper substrates were evaluated for their oil resistance via kit rating and oil contact angle measurements, while the water resistance was determined via Cobb60 value and water contact angle measurements. In addition, the pulp was successfully recovered from the coated paper. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was used to investigate the variation in the texture of the paper before and after the coating treatment. Thanks to the efficient pulp recovery and the biodegradable nature of the coating ingredients (chitosan and zein), this novel water- and oil-resistant paper will positively impact the environment by offering potential replacements for single-use plastic applications, and will thus help to minimize ocean microplastics and the burdens placed on landfills.

This study objective was to investigate the biological efficacy of a commercial dispersion of micronized copper azole (MCA) on plantation grown rubberwood. MCA is a formulation containing micronized copper carbonates and azole, an organic co-biocide. The impact of MCA pressure treatments with various concentrations of the active ingredients and the treatment durations on retentions, leaching rate, mechanical properties and biological performance against brown and white rots were evaluated. Biological performance of MCA treated rubberwood at minimum retention of 2.8 +/- 0.3 kg/m(3) was found to be comparable to that of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treatment at 15.1 +/- 2.3 kg/m(3). Field tests are being conducted to confirm the laboratory findings. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The current open-loop practices employed to render paper substrates water- and oil-repellent for packaging and non-packaging applications have generated ocean pollution and have placed daunting burdens on landfills.

This paper presents an experimental study on the development of uniform and homogeneous composite chitosan based flexible films containing various amount of xylan from 0 to 25 wt percent and carvacrol. The influence of the addition of xylan on the composite films was evaluated by measuring the tensile strength, moduli and elongation at break. The tensile strength and moduli of composite films containing 20 wt. % increase considerably by 73.9% and 66.8%, respectively. The elongation at break also increases considerably with the addition of xylan, the maximum value of 4.5% was obtained with film containing 8 wt.% xylan. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicates that the addition of xylan reduces the rate of degradation and shifts the thermal degradation peak from 290.7 to 276.8 degrees C for the film containing 20 wt.% xylan. Investigation on the antibacterial activity showed that Tetracycline reference control is effective in controlling the growth the bacteria while the incorporation of carvacrol in chitosan xylan composite is not effective.

This investigation aimed to characterize certain important anatomical, chemical and physical properties of Tetraclinis articulate (Thuja) burl wood from Morocco. Anatomical properties and constituent structure were analysed using image analysis system, environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and powder x-ray diffraction techniques. A few important physical properties of Thuja burl wood such as density, specific gravity, equilibrium moisture content (EMC), total swelling and water absorption characteristics were evaluated. Real-time water absorption and swelling profiles were recorded electronically using a digital force sensor and linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs) respectively. Microscopic structure observed on fractured surfaces showed very compact and thread-like fibers. Average crystallinity index and diameter of cellulose crystallite was found to be 0,35 +/- 0,03 and 36 +/- 5,58 angstrom respectively. The average values of air-dry density and the EMC of Thuja burl wood were 932,67 +/- 50,57 kg/m(3) and 10,19 +/- 1,43% respectively. Swelling profile as a function of the water immersion duration followed a curvilinear variation with maximum swelling coefficient of 2,9 +/- 0,43% after 24 hour from oven-dry condition. The suitability of this wood for decorative and handicraft items is attributed mainly to its dense microstructure, higher dimensional stability, lower water absorption, random grain texture, dark brownish with intense and pleasant smell.

Discoloration kinetics of wood plastic composites (WPCs) made of recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) during accelerated hygrothermal aging test at 45–65°C was conducted by means of time‐temperature superposition principle (TTSP). Color parameters measured with a spectrophotometer by CIELAB color system showed that L* and ΔE* increased while a* and b* decreased with aging time and temperature. A single horizontal shift was adequate for the superposition of color parameter master curves, indicating temperature can be used as accelerating factor to the discoloration of the studied WPCs. The regression line for Arrhenius plot showed a linearity for color parameters (R2 = 0.9996), suggesting TTSP concept can be used to analyze and predict the discoloration kinetics of WPCs at low aging temperature. The prediction of color parameters at ambient aging temperature (21°C) can be extended to 7.2 years. The activation energy calculated from color parameters using TTSP method was 85.5 kJ/mol and similar to the reported values of HDPE thermal relaxation reactions calculated from other methods in the open literature. POLYM. COMPOS. 37:1016–1020, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers

Active biodegradable films from chitosan containing 10% to 30% w/w of citronella essential oil (CEO) and cedarwood oil (CWO) were developed by casting and solvent-evaporation method, and their physical, mechanical and thermal properties were investigated. Possible interactions between the chitosan chains and the essential oils were confirmed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Various amounts of CEO or CWO had significant effects on the films’ mechanical properties, with the exception of 10% of CEO, which did not significantly affect the tensile strength of the films. The incorporation of the two tested oils provoked a remarkable reduction in the water-vapor permeability properties, with a decrease of about 63% when 30% CEO was added in chitosan films. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that degradation temperatures of the films containing CEO and CWO improved only slightly in comparison to control films without essential oils. FTIR spectra analysis provided some insights on the possible interactions between chitosan and the two essential oils used. This study suggests that active films can be developed by including CEO and CWO in a chitosan matrix. Such films can provide new formulation options for packaging industries in developing active packaging with potential food-technology applications.

Several studies have been reported on the use of cellulose, lignocellulose, chitin and other biological macromolecules for food packaging. One of the major drawbacks limiting their wide uses is their limited antimicrobial and water vapor barrier properties. In this study, cedarwood (Thuja occidentalis) essential oil (CWO), known to contain terpenes, polyphenols and tung oil, known to contain fatty acids, were used as additives to improve water vapor barrier, antimicrobial, and physical properties of laboratory cast lignocellulose films. Physicochemical and mechanical properties were tested to evaluate the impact of the addition of oils in the films formulations. The addition of 15 % CWO and tung oils improved water vapor permeability by more than 25 % as also evidenced by the increase of contact angle between water and film by 134 % from 38.98° to 89.36° with 15 % tung oil. FTIR was used to monitor the presence of hydrophobic groups at 1463 and 1741 cm−1 from the oil on the film spectra confirming the improvement of film hydrophobicity from oils interactions. However, the addition of 15 % hydrophobic oils promoted a significant decrease in tensile properties of films (p ≤ 0.05) by 40 % for CWO and 32 % for tung oil, respectively, due to a partial incompatibility between hydrophilic lignocellulose and hydrophobic oils. The use of a tailored coupling agent to reduce the incompatibility and to improve the load charge transfer between hydrophobic and hydrophilic group might reduce the decrease of the tensile properties with the addition of hydrophobic compounds. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed on the thermal stability of films using TGA. The antimicrobial effects of lignocellulose films against bacteria namely Listeria innocua, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella enterica was tested by disk inhibition zone method and showed an improvement with the addition of 5 % CWO in the film. The Microbe Growth Index of the lignocellulose cellulosic films containing 20 % w/w of CWO decreases by 80 %. CWO and tung oil are good candidates to control microbial growth and water vapor permeability in flexible films. Future work will focus on the olfactory and tensile properties for applications in food packaging.

Abstract The electrical properties of thermally modified wood (TMW) of southern pine (Pinus spp.) have been investigated, while the samples were modified at 150°C, 175°C, 200°C, and 225°C for 4 h. After conditioning the samples at five relative humidities, the constants for electrical resistance (kR) and dielectricity (kP) were measured and calculated according to the model “electrical properties vs. moisture content”. The correlations between kR and kP and mass loss (ML), CIEL*a*b* color and bending properties in terms of modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity were established. The coefficients of determination (R2) between these parameters were found to be between 0.926 and 0.999. TM influenced both kR and kP via changing the concentration and mobility of ions inside the wood and decreasing amount of polar groups of wood polymers. The conclusion is that the severity of TM such as the mechanical properties of TMW is in a close relation to the electrical properties.

ABSTRACTIn this study, interaction and compatibility between sugar‐beet pulp (SBP) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in blend films was assessed. Film‐forming dispersions of different ratios of SBP to PVA (100/0, 75/25, 50/50, and 25/75) were cast at room temperature. The effects of adding PVA to SBP on the resulting film's physical, mechanical and barrier properties and thermal stability were investigated. X‐ray diffraction and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the composites. When PVA was also added to the composite films, the films became softer, less rigid and more stretchable than pure SBP films. The addition of PVA gave significantly greater elongation at break (12.45%) and lower water vapor permeability (1.55 × 10−10 g s−1 m−1 Pa−1), but tensile strength did not markedly change, remaining around 59.68 MPa. Thermogravimetric analysis also showed that SBP/PVA film had better thermal stability than SBP film. The ESEM results showed that the compatibility of SBP50/PVA50 was better than those of other composite films. These results suggest that when taking all the studied variables into account, composite films formulated with 50% PVA are most suitable for various packaging applications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41354.

Ammonium pentaborate (APB) was used to modify urea formaldehyde (UF) resins, in which the formaldehyde to urea molar ratio was set at 1.80, 1.50, 1.25, and 1.05. Some specific properties, including gel time, free formaldehyde content in UF, bond strength, and formaldehyde emission levels from plywood were evaluated. The result showed that APB increased the gel time length, but also decreased free formaldehyde content and emission levels, which was reduced mostly by 79.0% and 81.4%, respectively. The result of bond strength indicated that APB was proper to modify high F/U molar ratio of UF resin regardless of the loading level, but a recommended loading level should be considered to relevantly lower the F/U molar ratio of UF. The suggested loading level of APB to UF is 8.0% to 6.0%, 6.0%, and 4.0% to UF resin with F/U molar ratio of 1.8, 1.5, and 1.25 separately.

The biological performance of copper-treated wood is related to the amount and form of copper available in treated wood. The amount of copper biologically available in wood treated with copper-based wood preservatives such as micronized copper azole, micronized copper quat, alkaline copper quat, copper chrome arsenic and copper azole was estimated by using non-sequential chemical extraction method. DI water, KNO3, KF, Na4P2O7, EDTA disodium salt and HNO3 solutions were used to extract copper from treated wood in an ultrasonic bath. The extracts and water washings were collected, centrifuged and analyzed to determine the amount of copper. High amount of copper was extracted with EDTA disodium salt and HNO3 solutions followed by sodium pyrophosphate, while that extracted with KNO3, KF and DI water was low. EDTA disodium salt and sodium pyrophosphate are known as good complexing/chelating agents, capable of chemically reacting with copper in treated wood, to form water-soluble copper salts. HNO3 was capable of extracting almost 100% of copper from copper-treated wood because of its low pH capable of solubilizing solid, unfixed and fixed copper in wood. KNO3 reacted with exchangeable form of copper, while KF is responsible for the extraction of physically adsorbed copper. DI water mostly removed soluble form of copper from treated wood. The amount of copper bioavailability from copper-treated wood can be estimated by the amount of copper extracted using DI water, KNO3 and KF solutions under given environmental conditions. The amount of bioavailable copper extracted from micronized copper–treated wood using DI water, KNO3 and KF solutions, although found to be low as compared with that extracted from ACQ, CCA and CA wood, was sufficient to prevent the growth of wood-destroying fungi.