POLYELECTROLYTE COMPLEX NANOPARTICLES OF SOLUBLE LIGNIN AND CHITOSAN AS INTERFACIAL MODIFIER

A water-soluble non-stoichiometric polyelectrolyte complex (LCP) was obtained as a result of the interaction of oppositely charged kraft lignin and high molecular chitosan by mixing their dilute water solutions. The sizes of the LCP nanoparticles were characterized by a bimodal distribution at pH 6, and their values were essentially smaller than the sizes of the chitosan particles. It was found that the LCP nanoparticles were characterized by remarkably lower values of surface tension at the air-water and the water-organic liquid interface in comparison with the initial biopolymers. With decreasing pH and increasing concentration of the LCP nanoparticles in the water solution, their adsorption ability at the interfaces was enhanced. The interface tension at the water-heptane interface changed non-linearly with increasing the polyelectrolyte complex concentration that was associated with the “saturation” effect. The dependence of the ability of the LPC nanoparticles to stabilize oil-in-water emulsion on pH values of the water phase was found.

NEW ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY DUST SUPPRESSANT BASED ON LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS FROM WOOD PROCESSING WASTEWATER

In this work, the possibility of usage of lignocellulosic biomass derived from wood processing wastewater as an environmentally friendly dust suppressant was studied. To increase the efficiency of the recovery of lignocellulosic biomass, a new developed composite coagulant, representing a polymer-colloid complex of polyethyleneimine with polyvalent metal ions, was applied. The effectiveness of the composite coagulant was examined using a model solution simulating the wastewater of hydrothermal treatment of birch wood. The optimum content of PEI in the composite coagulant was found to be 25-35%. At the optimal composite coagulant dosage and pH value, the yield of the total wood biomass achieved 97%, but the extraction of lignin and lignin-like substances was more than 65%. Due to the polymeric and polyfunctional nature, the recovered wood biomass had glue properties. Taking into account the fact that the dust at the surface of unpaved roads poses considerable environmental problems, the biomass was tested as a structuring agent for sandy and model sandy-clay soils. The obtained results have shown that the separated lignocellulosic biomass was capable of forming large sandy aggregates that were able to decrease the dusty soil blowing off from the unpaved road surface

Functionalized Bark for Recycled Polypropylene-Based Composites

A new method for the modification of the bark surface using N,N-diethyl-2,3-epoxypropylamine (DEEPA) was developed. As a result, the part of the bark phenolic hydroxyl groups were replaced with amine groups. The conditions of the modification were found, and the modified products were analysed. The different amount of the introduced amino groups in hardwood and softwood bark was gained by the various contents of lignin in the wood species. The recycled propylene-based composites filled with the modified bark were characterised by higher mechanical parameters in comparison with the composites filled with unmodified bark. The differences in the mechanical properties of the polymer composites filled with softwood - pine (Pinus sylvestris) bark and hardwood - grey alder (Alnus incana) bark has been established

Properties of Isolated Lignin From Model Wastewater

Model wastewater, imitating the hydrothermal treatment of birch wood in the basins of veneer production, was obtained under laboratory conditions. Birch lignin (BLIG) was isolated from the model wastewater by precipitation with concentarted sulphuric acid. The increase in reduced viscosity with decreasing concentration of BLIG in the water solutions indicated its polyelectrolyte behaviour. The presence of both ionized functional groups and hydrophobic aromatic fragments in the BLIG molecules favoured its surface active properties. With decreasing pH and increasing concentration, the surface activity of BLIG at the air-water and oil-water interfaces increased, indicating the enhanced hydrophobicity of lignin fragments due to the protonization of its acidic groups. The pronounced surface activity of BLIG was in accordance with the very low value of its critical micelle concentration. The dependence of the emulsion stability on the ionic strength may testify the predominant structural mechanical mechanism of the stabilization of the rapeseed oil-in-water emulsion, containing BLIG as a stabilizer. The revealed surface properties of the isolated lignin allow predicting its application for lowering surface tension in different disperse systems to prevent the coalescence and agglomeration phenomena

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF WOOD PLASTIC COMPOSITES WITH THE ACTIVATED WOOD FILLER

The aim of the research was a study of the effect of activation of birch sawdust microparticles with a dilute solution of sodium hydroxide at a low temperature on mechanical properties and water sorption of the obtained wood plastic composite (WPC) samples obtained from a by-product of a domestic wood mechanical processing and a recycled polymer municipal waste. It was found that the mechanical (tensile, bending) properties of the WPC samples filled with the activated birch sawdust microparticles were higher than those of the samples filled with the initial sawdust. The sorption and swelling degree of the WPC samples with the activated filler were lower than those for the samples with the initial sawdust. However, the difference in the values of the water sorption and the swelling degree for the samples filled with the activated and initial wood microparticles were relatively low in comparison with the observed essential difference in their mechanical properties. This fact was explained by the enhanced content of carbonyl groups in the activated sawdust microparticles that are able to absorb water

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INDUSTRIAL LIGNOSULFONATES AND SOME THEIR PROPERTIES

The aim was to compare the chemical composition and some properties of three industrial lignosulfonates produced as a by-product at three pulp and paper mills (Russia). Using the classical methods of lignin chemistry, it was found that there were differences in the elemental composition and the content of functional groups of the industrial lignosulfonates, but in general, they were not very significant. The Kondopoga lignosulfonates contained the highest content of methoxy, aliphatic hydroxyl groups and carbonyl groups. The Vyborg lignosulfonates had the highest degree of sulfonation and the lowest content of carbonyl groups. The content of the functional groups in the chemical composition of the Syassky lignosulfonates was intermediate between the functional composition of the Vyborg and Kondopoga lignosulfonates. The Vyborg lignosulfonates had the lowest values of the viscosity average molecular mass, dynamic viscosity and surface tension at the air-water interface in comparison with these parameters of the Kondopoga and Syassky lignosulfonates

EFFECT OF THE ACIDIC TREATMENT OF DOMESTIC WOOD RESIDUE ON BIOCOMPOSITE WETTABILITY AND MOISTURE SORPTION PROPERTIES

The aim of the work was to evaluate the effect of the acidic treatment temperature of aspen sawdust as a filler on the moisture sorption, wetting and mechanical properties of wood-polymer composites. Aspen wood sawdust was treated with the dilute hydrochloric acid solution at 60oC and 90oC during 5 h. Both the treated particles and the filled composites were studied in terms of moisture sorption and wettability; their surface free energy was calculated using the Owens-Wendt-Rabel-Kaelble (OWRK) approach. The obtained results have shown that the acidic treatment of aspen wood sawdust at 90oC leads to an increase in its hydrophobicity that decreases the wettability and moisture sorption of the obtained composite and increases its mechanical properties

Wood Biomass from the Model Wastewater and Its Fractionation

The production of veneer in Latvia and many countries of East Europe is accomplished by the hydrothermal treatment of hardwood in special water basins. As a result, formed effluents contain wood-originated pollutants, which are responsible for the enhanced chemical oxygen demand and the intensive colour of the wastewater. Keeping in mind the volume of the polluted effluents formed annually at the Latvian plywood plants, it is very important to extract qualitatively and quantitatively the formed biomass from the effluent. The choose of an effective method of the waste biomass extraction depends on chemical characterisation of the effluent. In this work, for imitating woodworking wastewater, birch sawdust was hydrothermally treated in mild alkaline conditions at 90°C. The yield of the solid biomass did not exceed 7% and contained, mainly, hemicelluloses in the polysaccharide form and lignin. The applied instrumental analysis (FTIR-, UV-, Raman spectroscopy) testify the dominant content of hemicelluloses in the obtained biomass. The fractionation of the biomass was performed using concentrated sulphuric acid and ethanol. As the obtained results have shown, the content of lignin, hemicelluloses and water-soluble degraded wood products in the solid biomass corresponded to the following mass ratio: 1.2 /6.7 /1.0, respectively

VALORIZED SODA LIGNIN AND ITS POSSIBLE APPLICATION

The aim was to obtain a valorized soda lignin and to study its properties for the followed treatment of hardwood sawdust as a filler for obtaining a wood-polymer composite. It was shown that the treatment of aspen sawdust microparticles by their immersion into a water solution of the valorized soda lignin, that is a water-soluble soda lignin/polyethylenimine polyelectrolyte complex, leads to hydrophobisation of the sawdust particles, which in turn positively affects the mechanical performance of the obtained wood-polymer composite

Use of Cellulose-Containing Fillers in Composites with Polypropylene

The composites, containing recycled polypropylene and fillers, obtained from different lignocellulosics by the thermocatalytic destruction method, were investigated. Birch sawdust, newsprint wastes, cotton residues and wood bleached sulphate pulp were used as raw materials for obtaining fillers. The indices of mechanical properties (tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, deformation at break, shear modulus, toughness, twisting moment) of the composites' samples were determined. It has been found that the obtained composites have relatively good mechanical properties. Better results were obtained, using fillers from sawdust and wood pulp. After treating the fillers with rapeseed oil, their water vapour sorption and water retention value (WRV) decreased. In this case, the strength of the composites was higher.http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.17.2.484</p