Lilik Astari^1,2,*, Benoit Belleville¹, Kenji Umemura³, Alex Filkov⁴, Barbara Ozarska¹, Robert H. Crawford⁵

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.12, No.10, pp. 1729-1756, 2024, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2024.054786 - 23 October 2024

Abstract The demand for particleboard is increasing along with economic and population growth. However, two major barriers to the manufacture of particleboard are a shortage of raw materials (woodchips) and the emission of formaldehyde from conventional adhesives. Agricultural by-products such as corn stalks contain an abundance of renewable lignocellulosic fiber. This study evaluates the effect of citric acid as a natural adhesive and fire retardant addition on the physical, mechanical, and fire retardancy properties of particleboards fabricated from corn stalks. A cost-effective and inorganic salt, calcium carbonate, was tested to enhance the fire retardancy. Ammonium dihydrogen… More > Graphic Abstract

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

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.12, No.1, pp. 89-102, 2024, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.029057 - 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 More > Graphic Abstract

Jakkid Sanetuntikul¹, Borwon Narupai², Nawadon Petchwattana^3,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.9, pp. 3567-3582, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.029308 - 20 July 2023

Abstract Wastes from polypropylene (PP) packages are accumulating every year because it is one of the most widely consumed and short lifecycle products. This paper aims to develop low thermal conductive and fire-retardant materials from post-consumer PP (pPP) packages. Ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and hollow glass microsphere (HGM) were further added to improve the fire retardancy and thermal conductivity of pPP. The influence of APP and HGM on the mechanical and thermal properties, fire retardancy and thermal conductivity of pPP were investigated and compared with that of virgin PP (vPP). HGM was constantly added at 5 wt%… More > Graphic Abstract

Haiyang Zhou^1,2, Xiaoyu Wang³, Xiaolong Hao^1,2, Qingwen Wang^1,2,*, Rongxian Ou^1,2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.5, pp. 485-498, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.010263 - 29 April 2020

Abstract The mechanical properties of wood flour/high-density polyethylene composites (WPC) were improved by adding a small amount of nano-SiO₂ to obtain a network-structured WPC with a continuous honeycomb-like nano-SiO₂ network. The wood flour was modified with a fire retardant (a mixture of sodium octabonate and amidine urea phosphate) to improve its fire retardancy. The flexural properties, creep resistance, thermal expansion, and fire retardancy of the WPC were compared to a control (WPC_CTRL) without nano-SiO₂ or fire retardant. The flexural strength and modulus of the WPC containing only 0.55 wt.% nano-SiO₂ were 6.6% and 9.1% higher than the control, respectively, More >

Weijun Yang^1†, Xiaomin Zhao^2†, Elena Fortunati¹, Franco Dominici¹, Jose M. Kenny¹, Debora Puglia^1*, De-Yi Wang^2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 423-434, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634146

Abstract Presented herein is a deep investigation of the fire, mechanical and thermal performances of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based nanocomposites, which were obtained by combining cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) with various contents of N,N’-diallyl-phenylphosphoricdiamide (P-AA) via a two-steps masterbatch melt extrusion process (glycidyl methacrylate grafting on PLA and CNC premixing with PLA). Results have shown that the value of the limiting oxygen index (LOI) increased to 28.8% and a V-0 rating in UL94 test was obtained when 2 wt% of P-AA was added in the presence of cellulose nanocrystals (3 wt%). The incorporation of CNC induced a decrease More >