Effects of Sodium Bisulfite on the Physicochemical and Adhesion Properties of Canola Protein Fractions

This study focused on investigating the potential of using canola protein fractions as bio-degradable wood adhesives. Native and sodium bisulfite (NaHSO₃)-modified canola protein fractions isolated successively at different pH values (7.0, 5.5, and 3.5) was used as adhesives. Wood specimens were assembled with adhesives at a pressure of 2?MPa at 150, 170, or 190?°C for 10?min. The adhesion performance of adhesives were evaluated by wet, soak, and dry shear strength. Their physicochemical properties: extractability, electrophoresis profiles, thermal, rheological and morphological properties were also characterized. Results showed that canola protein had the highest protein yield and purity at pH 5.5. Electrophoresis profile proved that NaHSO₃ cleaved the disulfide bonds in canola protein. This could induce extra charges (RS-SO₃ ^?) on the protein surface, leading to the reduced apparent viscosity. Thermal analysis implied that the thermal transition temperature of canola protein decreased with modification of NaHSO₃. Canola protein adhesives showed excellent dry and soak shear strength with 100?% wood cohesive failure in all curing temperatures. The wet adhesion strength of native and modified canola protein fraction adhesives at pH 5.5 and pH 3.5 (3.9?C4.1?MPa) was higher than the fractions at pH 7.0. NaHSO₃ had insignificant effects on the adhesion performance of canola protein adhesives but notably improved the handling and flow-ability properties of canola protein adhesives.     

Effect of Magnesium Oxide Loading on Adhesion Properties of ENR 25/NBR Blend Adhesives in the Presence of Petro Resin and Gum Rosin Tackifiers

The adhesion properties of magnesium oxide filled epoxidized natural rubber (ENR 25)/acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) blend adhesives were studied using petro resin and gum rosin as tackifiers. Toluene was used as the solvent throughout the experiment. Five different loadings, i.e. 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 phr magnesium oxide was used in the adhesive formulation. The SHEEN hand coater was used to coat the adhesive on polyethylene terephthalate at 30 and 120 µm coating thickness. The tack, peel strength and shear strength were determined by a Lloyd adhesion tester operating at 30 cm min^?1. Results shows that all the adhesion properties of the ENR 25/NBR adhesives show a maximum value at 10 phr filler loading. Loop tack and peel strength pass through a maximum, an observation which is associated to the optimum wettability of adhesive on the substrate. For the shear test, maximum shear strength occurs due to the optimum cohesive strength of the adhesive. Results also show that all petro resin based adhesives have higher adhesion properties than gum rosin based adhesive. In all cases, the adhesion properties of adhesives also increase with increasing coating thickness.     

A Novel Eco-friendly Blood Meal-based Bio-adhesive: Preparation and Performance

In this reported study, a renewable and eco-friendly blood meal-based (BM) bio-adhesive was developed for the plywood fabrication. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), and triglycidylamine (TGA) were respectively employed as emulsifier, denaturant and crosslinking agent to modify the BM adhesive. Three-ply plywood was manufactured and its wet shear strength was tested. The solid content, residual rate, functional groups, thermal degradation behavior, and cross section micromorphology of the resulting adhesives were characterized in detail. The experimental results showed that PVA prevented the BM agglomeration, SDS unfolded the structure of protein and then TGA reacted with the exposed active groups in the BM protein molecules, forming a cross-linked structure. As a result, the thermal stability of the modified BM adhesive was improved and the cross section of the cured adhesive was more homogeneous, which enhanced the performance of the adhesive. Consequently, the wet shear strength of the plywood bonded by modified BM adhesive markedly increased by 388% to 1.27 MPa. Compared with soy bean meal-based adhesive, a higher protein content and hydrophobic amino acids content of BM are benefit for fabricating high performance bio-based adhesive, which rendered the BM adhesive practical for plywood industrial application.     

Adhesive Performance of Sorghum Protein Extracted from Sorghum DDGS and Flour

Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is the main co-product from grain-based ethanol production. The objective of this research was to compare the adhesive performance of three types of sorghum proteins: acetic acid-extracted sorghum protein from DDGS (PI), aqueous ethanol-extracted sorghum protein from DDGS (PII) and acetic acid-extracted sorghum protein from sorghum flour (PF). Physicochemical properties including amino acid composition, and rheological, thermal and morphological properties also were characterized. Results showed that PI had the best adhesion performance in terms of dry, wet and soak adhesion strength, followed by PF and PII. The wet strength of PI at a concentration of 12% protein assembled at 150 °C was 3.15 MPa, compared to 2.17 MPa and 2.59 MPa for PII and PF, respectively. DSC thermograms indicated that the PF protein isolates contained higher levels of carbohydrates than PI and PII; such non-protein contaminants in the PF isolate could be the reason for its lower adhesion strength than PI. In addition, PI might have more hydrophobic amino acids aligned at the protein-wood interface than PII, which could explain the better water resistance of PI. The optimum sorghum protein concentration and pressing temperature for maximum adhesion strength was 12% and 150 °C. PI had a significantly higher wet strength (3.15 MPa) than unmodified soy protein (1.63 MPa for soy protein). The high percentage of hydrophobic amino acids in PI (57%) was likely a key factor in the increased water resistance of PI compared with soy protein (36% hydrophobic amino acids). These results indicated that sorghum protein has huge potential as an alternative to petroleum-based adhesives.     

Improving Water Resistance of Soy-Based Adhesive by Vegetable Tannin

In this research tannic acid was used to prepare soy-based adhesives for making plywood and fiber board. The different resin formulations were analyzed by Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and its derivative as a function of temperature (DTG) and Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results showed that the addition of tannic acid to soy-based adhesive decreased soy-based adhesive viscosity and its pH. The DSC analysis showed that the denaturation temperature of soy-based adhesives decrease by adding tannic acid. The TGA and DTG curves showed that the thermal degradation of soy flour starts above 146 °C. The FTIR spectroscopy results also showed that the soy flour amino acids appeared to react well with tannic acid. Furthermore, delamination and shear strength test results showed the good water resistance of plywood bonded with soy-based tannic acid-modified adhesive. The mechanical and physical properties such as MOR, MOE, IB, and water resistance of fiberboard were improved, by adding tannic acid to the soy-based adhesive.     

Geotechnical properties of municipal solid waste at different phases of biodegradation

This paper presents the results of laboratory investigation conducted to determine the variation of geotechnical properties of synthetic municipal solid waste (MSW) at different phases of degradation. Synthetic MSW samples were prepared based on the composition of MSW generated in the United States and were degraded in bioreactors with leachate recirculation. Degradation of the synthetic MSW was quantified based on the gas composition and organic content, and the samples exhumed from the bioreactor cells at different phases of degradation were tested for the geotechnical properties. Hydraulic conductivity, compressibility and shear strength of initial and degraded synthetic MSW were all determined at constant initial moisture content of 50% on wet weight basis. Hydraulic conductivity of synthetic MSW was reduced by two orders of magnitude due to degradation. Compression ratio was reduced from 0.34 for initial fresh waste to 0.15 for the mostly degraded waste. Direct shear tests showed that the fresh and degraded synthetic MSW exhibited continuous strength gain with increase in horizontal deformation, with the cohesion increased from 1 kPa for fresh MSW to 16–40 kPa for degraded MSW and the friction angle decreased from 35° for fresh MSW to 28° for degraded MSW. During the triaxial tests under CU condition, the total strength parameters, cohesion and friction angle, were found to vary from 21 to 57 kPa and 1° to 9°, respectively, while the effective strength parameters, cohesion and friction angle varied from 18 to 56 kPa and from 1° to 11°, respectively. Similar to direct shear test results, as the waste degrades an increase in cohesion and slight decrease in friction angle was observed. Decreased friction angle and increased cohesion with increased degradation is believed to be due to the highly cohesive nature of the synthetic MSW. Variation of synthetic MSW properties from this study also suggests that significant changes in geotechnical properties of MSW can occur due to enhanced degradation induced by leachate recirculation.     

Preformed Amide-containing biopolymer for Improving the Environmental Performance of Synthesized Urea–formaldehyde in Agro-fiber Composites

Investigations have continued for production high performance agro-based composites using environmentally acceptable approaches. This study examines the role of adding amide-containing biopolymers during synthesis of urea–formaldehyde (UF) on properties of adhesive produced, especially its adhesion potential. The environmental performance of UF-resin synthesized in the presence of modified amide-containing biopolymer was evaluated by evaluating the free-HCHO of both adhesive (during processing) and of the eventual engineered composite product. Also, the benefits of this synthesis-modified adhesive in enhancing the bondability of sugar-cane fibers used in engineered composite panels was evaluated and compared to using UF-resin. The results obtained show that, static bending of the produced composites varied from 27.7 to 33.13 N/mm² of modulus of rupture (MOR) and from 2860 to 3374 N/mm² of Modulus of Elasticity (MOE); while for internal bond (IB) it’s varied from 0.64 to 0.866 N/mm². Based on the ANSI and EN Standards modified UF-based agro composites produced meet the performance requirements for high grade particleboards with respect to static bending strength. These agro-based composite also tested out as having free-HCHO values of ~13 mg/100 g board.     

Effects of Storage Time on Properties of Soybean Protein-Based Plastics

Soybean protein has been considered as a potential biodegradable polymer in the manufacture of plastics. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the effect of storage time on thermal and mechanical properties of soybean protein isolate (SPI) plastics. SPI was separated from defatted soy flour, modified with 1M or 2M urea, or plasticized with glycerol, and compression molded into plastics. Plastic made from SPI alone was used as a control. For all SPI plastics, glass transition temperatures and dynamic storage modulus increased and loss tangent decreased during storage. Excess enthalpy of relaxation of all SPI plastics had an exponential relationship with storage time, indicating a fast aging rate at the beginning of storage. All SPI plastics tended to be stiff and brittle during storage. The plastics with glycerol had the slowest aging rate and were fairly stable after 60 days, with about 8.8 MPa tensile strength and 168% strain at break. Plastics with the 2M urea-modification SPI also had a slow aging rate and became relative stable after 60 days, with about 10 MPa tensile strength and 72% elongation.     

Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Plastics Molded from Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Modified Soy Protein Isolates

Soybean protein is a potential material for manufacturing of biodegradable plastics. The objective of this investigation was to characterize the thermal and mechanical properties of plastics made from sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-modified soy proteins. Soy protein isolate (SPI) was prepared from defatted soy flour, modified with various concentrations of SDS, and then molded into plastics. The temperatures of denaturation of the modified soy protein increased at low SDS concentration and then decreased at high SDS concentration. At the same SDS concentration, the plastics molded from the modified soy proteins showed a similar temperature of denaturation, but a lower enthalpy of denaturation compared to the modified soy protein. Young's modulus of the plastics decreased as SDS concentration increased, and the tensile strength and strain at break of the plastics reached a maximum value at 1% SDS modification. Two glass transition temperatures were identified corresponding to the 7S and 11S globulins in SPI by dynamic mechanical analysis, and they decreased as SDS concentration increased. The SDS modification increased the water absorption of the plastics.     

Study of Aging Characteristics of Ternary Blends of Polyethylenes—II

Six film samples of low-density polypropylene (LDPE)/linear LDPE (LLDPE)/high-density polypropylene (HDPE) with varying ratios of LDPE (20–45 ... wt%) and LLDPE (25–50 wt%) having a fixed amount of HDPE at 30 wt% were prepared by blown film extrusion technique. The samples were aged at four different temperatures, 55°, 70°, 85°, and 100°C, for four different time periods in the interval of between 150 hours and up to 600 hours. The change in the structure of various constituents and the formation of various oxygenated (peroxy and hydroperoxy) and unsaturated groups during thermo-oxidative degradation was discussed by infrared spectroscopy. The visiosity-average molecular weight was found to have decreased slowly in the initial aging hours and temperatures, whereas it decreased by 10% with its previous value tensile strength that is, 100°C when aged for 600 hours. The tensile strength of the sample first increased by 67% at 55°C and 89% at 70°C up to 450 hours, whereas the values increased by 52.5% at 85°C and 33.9% at 100°C when aged for 150 hours and then decreased. The percentage elongation at break increased by 2.7% at 55°C and 10.7% at 70°C for 150 and 300 hours of aging, respectively, whereas the percentage decreased when aged at 85°C and 100°C for up to 600 hours of aging. The values of gel content (percent) increased and initial degradation temperature decreased with aging time and temperature.     

Material Properties and Influence of Molecular Weight and Testing Rate on Adhesion Properties of Epoxidized Natural Rubber-Based Adhesives

The effect of molecular weight and testing rate on peel and shear strength of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR-50)-based adhesive was investigated using petro resin as the tackifier. Toluene and polyethylene terephthalate were used as the solvent and substrate respectively. Peel and shear strength were determined by a Llyod Adhesion Tester operating at different rates of testing. Result shows that peel strength and shear strength increases up to an optimum molecular weight of 4.2 × 10⁴ g/mol of ENR-50. This observation is attributed to the combined effects of wettability and mechanical strength of rubber for peel strength. For shear strength, it is ascribed to the optimum cohesive and adhesive strength. Both peel strength and shear strength increases with increasing rate of testing, an observation which is associated to the viscoeslastic response of the adhesive. Thermal study, SEM and FTIR study confirms the miscibility of tackifier with ENR-50.     

Adhesion Properties of Adhesive Prepared from Waste Polystyrene

Solid and soft forms of waste polystyrene have been treated with coumarone–indene resin and benzene to produce a new adhesive. The adhesive is prepared from various compositions of polystyrene (13–38 wt%), coumarone-indene resin (5–7%) and benzene (57–80%). Viscosity, peel strength and tensile shear strength of the adhesive is determined by a HAAKE Rotary Viscometer, Lloyd Adhesion Tester and Instron machine, respectively. Rolling ball technique was used to measure the tackiness of the adhesive. Results show that the adhesion property increases with increase in polystyrene composition and coating thickness. This observation is attributed to the increasing wettability of adhesive on the substrate.     

High compressive strength of home waste and polyvinyl acetate composites containing silica nanoparticle filler

Simple mixing and hot pressing methods were used to make composites from home waste—in particular, paper and dry leaves—using polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) as an adhesive and silica nanoparticles as filler. The optimum composition for the strongest composites, in terms of compressive strength, had a mass ratio of silica nanoparticles/PVAc/(paper + dry leaves) of 3:80:280. With this mass ratio, a compressive strength of 68.50 MPa was obtained for samples prepared at a pressing temperature of 150°C, pressing pressure of 100 MPa, and pressing time of 20 min. The addition of silica nanoparticles increased the compressive strength by about 50%, compared with composites made without the addition of nanosilica (45.60 MPa). Higher compressive strength was obtained at a higher pressing pressure. At a pressing pressure of 120 MPa, pressing temperature of 150°C, and pressing time of 20 min, a compressive strength of 69.10 MPa was obtained. When the pressing time was increased to 45 min at a pressing pressure of 120 MPa, a compressive strength of 84.37 MPa was measured. A model was also proposed to explain the effects of pressing pressure and pressing time on compressive strength. The model predictions were in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Preparation and Biodegradation of Starch/Polycaprolactone Films

Starch granules were modified with trisodium trimetaphosphate (TSTP) and characterized by P³¹-NMR, FTIR and DSC. Seventy-micron films were prepared from modified starch and polycaprolactone blends by solvent casting technique. Three different types of films—PCL (100% polycaprolactone), MOD-ST/PCL (50% modified starch and 50% polycaprolactone blend) and NONMOD-ST/PCL (50% nonmodified starch and 50% polycaprolactone blends)—were prepared, and their thermal, mechanical, and morphologic properties were investigated to show the increased performance of PCL with the addition of starch and also the effect of modification. It was observed that with the addition of starch the Young's modulus of polycaprolactone was increased and became less ductile, whereas tensile strength and elongation at break values decreased. Biodegradation of these films was inspected under different aerobic environments with the presence of Pseudomonas putida, activated sludge, and compost. It was observed that whereas P. putida had almost no effect on degradation during 90 days, with the presence of activated sludge, considerable deformation of films was observed even in the first 7 days of degradation. In a compost environment, degradation was even faster, and all polymer films were broken into pieces within first 7 days of degradation and no film remained after 15 days.     

废弃中密度纤维板制备活性炭

以磷酸为活化剂、废弃中密度板木粉为原料制备活性炭(AC),采用正交实验得出制备AC的最佳工艺条件:磷酸质量浓度为813.43 g/L,浸渍比(木粉与磷酸的质量比)为4.5:1,浸渍时间为12 h,活化温度为500 ℃,活化时间为2 h.在此条件下AC得率为40.67%,碘吸附值为934.56 mg/g,亚甲基蓝吸附值为172.5 mg/g,焦糖脱色率为100%.采用3 g AC处理150 mL实际水样,COD去除率为84.50%,NH_3-N去除率为61.70%,色度去除率为86.88%,浊度去除率为82.80%,悬浮物去除率为80.98%.     

Food waste impact on municipal solid waste angle of internal friction

The impact of food waste content on the municipal solid waste (MSW) friction angle was studied. Using reconstituted fresh MSW specimens with different food waste content (0%, 40%, 58%, and 80%), 48 small-scale (100-mm-diameter) direct shear tests and 12 large-scale (430 mm × 430 mm) direct shear tests were performed. A stress-controlled large-scale direct shear test device allowing approximately 170-mm sample horizontal displacement was designed and used. At both testing scales, the mobilized internal friction angle of MSW decreased considerably as food waste content increased. As food waste content increased from 0% to 40% and from 40% to 80%, the mobilized internal friction angles (estimated using the mobilized peak (ultimate) shear strengths of the small-scale direct shear tests) decreased from 39° to 31° and from 31° to 7°, respectively, while those of large-scale tests decreased from 36° to 26° and from 26° to 15°, respectively. Most friction angle measurements produced in this study fell within the range of those previously reported for MSW.     

Effects of Compounded Curing Agents on Properties and Performance of Urea Formaldehyde Resin

The effects of three compounded curing agents on the properties and performance of the urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin were investigated in this study. The compounded curing agents were prepared by mixing ammonium chloride with hexamethylenetetramine, citric acid, and oxalic acid respectively at a ratio of 1:1, named N-H, N–CA, and N–OA, respectively. The curing process, crystallinity, and physical properties were measured, and the three-ply plywood was fabricated to measure its prepress strength, wet shear strength, and formaldehyde emission. Results showed that the compounded curing agents N–CA and N–OA enhanced the initial viscosity, crosslinking density and thermal stability of UF resin. Additionally, the prepress strength of the plywood bonded by UF resin with N–CA and N–OA increased by 82 and 111% respectively compared to the UF resin with NH₄Cl, and the wet shear strength increased by 14 and 16%, the formaldehyde emission decreased by 19 and 42% respectively. However, owing to the short pot-life of these curing agent limited their storage time, the curing agents N–CA and N–OA should be applied to fabricate plywood in winter for obtaining a better bond strength and a lower formaldehyde emission. While the UF resin with N–HT showed a suitable pot-life, so it could be applied to fabricate plywood in summer for long time storage and avoiding procuring problem.     

Effect of Matrix–Particle Interfacial Adhesion on the Mechanical Properties of Poly(lactic acid)/Wood-Flour Micro-Composites

The influence of interfacial matrix/particle adhesion on the mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) micro-composites was investigated. The tensile strength of PLA/wood-flour micro-composites is almost independent of wood-flour content, suggesting only weak adhesion exists between the PLA matrix and the wood-flour particles. The addition of wood-flour resulted in an increase of up to 95% in the tensile modulus, in comparison with pure PLA, which showed a more resilient matrix. The addition of a coupling agent, methylenediphenyl-diisocyanate (MDI) to the composition resulted in an increase in tensile strength and tensile modulus of the micro-composites, of 10 and 135%, respectively, indicating enhanced matrix–particle interfacial adhesion. SEM and electron probe microanalysis provided evidence of improved interfacial adhesion between PLA and wood-flour particles from the addition of MDI. In contrast, addition of PEAA resulted in a micro-composite displaying substantially reduced tensile strength, up to 35% and a slightly increased in impact strength, up to 15%, consistent with the introduction of the rubbery PEAA component into the polymeric matrix. No evidence for increased matrix–particle adhesion was found for the PLA/wood-flour micro-composites containing PEAA.     

Microtox assay to determine the toxicity of degradation products from degradable plastics

Six types of starch-polyethylene degradable plastics were evaluated for the release of water-soluble toxic compounds under accelerated degradation conditions. A plastic strip (2.5×15.2 cm) was placed in a 250-ml Erlenmeyer flask with 100 ml of ASTM type I water with or without trace element solutions and shaken at 65°C and 110 rpm for 20 weeks in replicates of two. High temperature was used to accelerate the oxidative degradation of polyethylene. Plastic degradation was measured by loss of tensile strength, percentage elongation, strain energy, and weight-average molecular weight. The most rapid period of polyethylene thermal degradation was complete for most materials by day 28. Ten-milliliter aqueous samples were removed from each flask at days 1, 7, 28, 56, 84, and 140 (water volumes were maintained at 100 ml with fresh type I water), filtered through glass filters, then evaluated by using the Microtox Toxicity Analyzer (Microbics Corporation, Carlsbad, CA). No water-soluble toxic compounds were detected during the period of rapid film degradation. Toxicity was observed at day 28 for one film and at day 84 for all films, which could possibly correlate with the release of small oxidative compounds such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Because of the sensitivity of this assay, positive results must be confirmed by otherin vitro studies.Journal Paper No. J-14851 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. Projects No. 2889 and 0178.     

Mechanical and Physical Properties of Green Biocomposite Based on Medium Density Fiberboard Sanding Powder/Polyethylene/Nanoclay

Medium density fiberboard (MDF) sanding powder is an industrial waste that has not been yet used as a raw material to produce composites. In this study, the influence of nanoclay particles on the flexural and impact strengths and the withdrawal strength of green biocomposites (based on MDF sanding powder/polyethylene/nanoclay) were investigated. For this aim, medium density fiberboard sanding dust and polyethylene were used as the lignocellulosic and thermoplastic material, respectively. In addition, maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene was used in three weight percentages (0, 3 and 6 %) as a coupling agent and compatibilizer, and Cloisite^®15A was used in four weight percentages (0, 2, 4 and 6 %). To prepare samples, wood-plastic granules were produced by using a twin-screw extruder followed by the hot pressing method. The mechanical and physical properties were measured according to the CEN/TS15534:2007 and ASTM-D256 technical specifications. The results showed that the coupling agent improved the mechanical and physical properties of biocomposites; however, its effect might be affected by the nanoclay particles. Furthermore, the ultrastructure of the biocomposites was surveyed with SEM.