Idalina Domingos

Chemical changes of heat treated pine and eucalypt wood monitored by FTIR

A hardwood, Eucalyptus globulus Labill., and a softwood Pinus pinaster Aiton., were heat treated at temperatures between 170 and 210oC in an oven and in an autoclave. The samples were pre-extracted with dichloromethane, ethanol and water and ground prior to Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis. The heat treatment caused significant changes in the chemical composition and structure of wood, in lignin and polysaccharides. Hemicelluloses were the first to degrade as proved by the initial decrease of the 1730 cm-1 peak due to the breaking of acetyl groups in xylan. Hardwood lignin changed more than softwood lignin, with a shift of maximum absorption from 1505 cm-1 to approximately 1512 cm-1 due to decrease of methoxyl groups, loss of syringyl units or breaking of aliphatic side-chains. The macromolecular structure becomes more condensed and there is a clear increase of non-conjugated (1740 cm-1) in relation to conjugated groups (1650 cm-1). However, the changes induced by the thermal treatment are difficult to monitor by FTIR spectroscopy due to the different chemical reactions occurring simultaneously.

Liquefied wood as a partial substitute of melamine-urea-formaldehyde and urea-formaldehyde resins

Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) sawdust was used to produce liquefied wood by the polyhydric method with acid catalysis. The process was optimized to produce the highest amount of liquefied wood. Wood liquefied at 160oC for 90 min was used in the adhesion tests. The bond strength of veneer glued with urea-formaldehyde and melamine-urea-formaldehyde resins and several mixtures of liquefied wood with urea- formaldehyde and melamine-urea-formaldehyde wasevaluated by automated bonding evaluation system. With the increase in liquefied wood content the bond strength decreased. Nevertheless for 20% liquefied wood the reduction of internal bond strength is relatively small and still within the minimum standards required. When 70% of liquefied wood is employed there is a significant decrease in bond strength. In conclusion it is possible to use a small amount of maritime pine sawdust liquefied wood as a partial substitute of urea-formaldehyde and melamine-urea-formaldehyde resins in the particleboard production, thus decreasing the formaldehyde content.

Life Cycle Assessment as a tool to promote sustainable Thermowood boards: a Portuguese case study

The present work aims to develop the Life Cycle Assessment study of thermo-modified Atlanticwood® pine boards based on real data provided by Santos & Santos Madeiras company. Atlanticwood® pine boards are used mainly for exterior decking and cladding facades of buildings. The LCA study is elaborated based on ISO 14040/44 standard and Product Category Rules for preparing an environmental product declaration for Construction Products and Construction Services. The inventory analysis and, subsequently, the impact analysis have been performed using the LCA software SimaPro8.0.4. The method chosen for impact assessment was EPD (2013) V1.01. The results show that more than ¾ of ‘Acidification’, ‘Eutrophication’, ‘Global warming’ and ‘Abiotic depletion’ caused by 1 m3 of Atlanticwood® pine boards production is due to energy consumption (electricity + gas + biomass). This was to be expected since the treatment is based on heat production and no chemicals are added during the heat treatment process.

Optimizing Douglas-fir bark liquefaction in mixtures of glycerol and polyethylene glycol and KOH

Abstract The outer bark of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) has a significant amount of cork tissue that may be an important source of chemicals derived from its natural polymers, suberin, cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. The present work focuses on the polyalcohol liquefaction of Douglas-fir bark with glycerol and polyethylene glycol (PEG) in order to obtain a liquid that can be further processed to other chemicals and products. The results show that Pseudotsuga bark can be liquefied in a significant percentage in presence of alkali. The best liquefaction yield was obtained with 6% KOH as agents. Although the use of a cosolvent is favorable, good liquefaction yields can also be obtained by glycerol alone. Lower temperatures are favorable as they lead to acceptable liquefaction yields. FTIR-ATR studies showed that all the structural compounds of the bark were attacked and depolymerized. The process tested has a high potential for generation of value-added products from liquefied Douglas-fir bark.

Environmental advantages through producing energy from grape stalk pellets instead of wood pellets and other sources

Abstract The aim of this study was to quantify and compare the environmental impact of the heat of grape stalk pellets with that of wood pellets and other sources, using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. The study was carried out using the ISO 14040/44 series standard. The inventory analysis and, subsequently, the impact analysis were performed using the software SimaPro8.4.0. The method chosen for this environmental impact assessment was CML-IA baseline. The results show that heat from grape stalk pellets is more environmentally friendly than heat from wood pellets for 7 out of 11 impact categories, including marine aquatic ecotoxicity, which is considered the most important impact category. A global reduction of 1.6 × 104 or 1.14 × 106 or 1.9 × 106 tonne of CO2 eq emissions could be achieved if the global potential production of grape stalk pellets replaced wood pellets or light fuel oil or hard coal briquettes, respectively, contributing to the achievement of the EU’s objectives.