Open Access

ARTICLE

Flame Retardant Material Based on Cellulose Scaffold Mineralized by Calcium Carbonate

Jinshuo Wang, Lida Xing, Fulong Zhang, Chuanfu Liu^*

State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, School of Light Industry and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

* Corresponding Author: Chuanfu Liu. Email:

(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Process and Engineering of Lignocellulose Utilization)

Journal of Renewable Materials 2024, 12(1), 89-102. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2023.029057

Received 30 January 2023; Accepted 13 March 2023; Issue published 23 January 2024

Abstract

Wood-based functional materials have developed rapidly. But the flammability significantly limits its further application. To improve the flame retardancy, the balsa wood was delignified by NaClO₂ solution to create a cellulose scaffold, and then alternately immersed in CaCl₂ ethanol solution and NaHCO₃ aqueous solution under vacuum. The high porosity and wettability resulting from delignification benefited the following mineralization process, changing the thermal properties of balsa wood significantly. The organic-inorganic wood composite showed abundant CaCO₃ spherical particles under scanning electron microscopy. The peak of the heat release rate of delignified balsa-CaCO₃ was reduced by 33% compared to the native balsa, according to the cone calorimetric characterization. The flame test demonstrated that the mineralized wood was flame retardant and self-extinguish. Additionally, the mineralized wood also displayed lower thermal conductivity. This study developed a feasible way to fabricate a lightweight, fire-retardant, self-extinguishing, and heat-insulating wood composite, providing a promising route for the valuable application of cellulosic biomass.

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