Ramadan A. Nasser

Effects of aqueous extraction on the performance and properties of polypropylene/wood composites from Phoenix dactylifera and Acacia tortilis wood

Polypropylene/wood composites were prepared by melt blending technique using a twin screw extruder and subsequently ASTM samples were also prepared by injection molding technique. Untreated and pre-treated particles of Phoenix dactylifera and Acacia tortilis woods are used in this study to investigate the effect of pre-treatments on the different properties of polypropylene/wood composites. The tensile strength of the wood composites was evaluated by ASTMD-638 method and it was found to be higher than the neat polypropylene. The effect of incorporation of wood particles on the melting temperature (T m ), crystallization temperature (T c ) and relative crystallinity (X c ) was also studied and reported. The viscoelastic properties of the PP/wood composites were evaluated. The temperature sweep experiments reveals that the composites storage modulus (G′) has higher values than the neat polypropylene at elevated temperature. The water uptake test showed that the composite samples have improved water repletion properties. Water uptake of untreated PP/date palm composites increased from 0.042% after 2 h to 0.12% after 120 h of immersion time. Pre-treated date palm reduced water uptake to 0.077% after 120 h of immersion time. Similar trend was also observed for the composites prepared from A. tortilis wood. The interaction between the wood and the polymer matrix was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique. The interfacial and the distribution of the wood particles in the polymer matrix were also investigated by scanning electron microscopy.

Possibility of using three invasive non-forest tree species as an alternative source for energy production

Non-woody biomass species have high-energy potentials, which could be used for bioenergy production. Invasive species are species spreading into areas, where they are not native, consequently causing environmental and economic problems. Therefore, the present study evaluated the proximate, ultimate, chemical, and fuel characteristics of wood and charcoal of three invasive non-forest tree species in Saudi Arabia: Calotropis procera, Rhazya stricta, and Phragmites australis, which were compared with the wood of Acacia tortilis, a preferable local fuelwood. All these data were discussed to investigate the possibility of using the invasive plants for energy production. The thermal behavior of wood was analyzed using thermo-gravimetric and derivative thermo-gravimetric methods. Overall, compared with the wood of A. tortilis, the woods of R. stricta and P. australis are suitable for energy production. The charcoal produced from P. australis emitted less nitrogen (N) oxide than that of R. stricta.

Measurement of Some Strength Properties and the Chemical Compositions of Seven Hardwood Species Grown in Northwest Egypt

The present study evaluated for the first time, some strength properties and the chemical compositions of seven hardwood species grown in Northeast Egypt, namely, Acacia saligna, Delonix regia, Erythrina humeana, Ficus elastica, Leucaena leucocephala, Melia azedarach, and Meryta sinclairii. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) results indicated that the effect of wood species on the mechanical properties and chemical compositions was significant (P   M. sinclairii > L. leucocephala > D. regia > F. elastica > A. saligna > E. humeana.

The Performance and Properties of Wood–Polypropylene Panels as Affected by Wood Aqueous Extraction

Abstract The manufacturing of wood–polymer composites (WPCs) by compounding wood particles with plastic at temperatures above their melting point may cause thermal degradation of the wood, which ca...