The degradable nature of high-performance, wood-based materials is an attractive advantage when considering environmental factors such as sustainability, recycling, and energy/resource conservation. The Handbook of Wood Chemistry and Wood Composites provides an excellent guide to the latest concepts and technologies in wood chemistry and bio-based composites. The book analyzes the chemical composition and physical properties of wood cellulose and its response to natural processes of degradation. It describes safe and effective chemical modifications to strengthen wood against biological, chemical, and mechanical degradation without using toxic, leachable, or corrosive chemicals. Expert researchers provide insightful analyses of the types of chemical modifications applied to polymer cell walls in wood, emphasizing the mechanisms of reaction involved and resulting changes in performance properties. These include modifications that increase water repellency, fire retardancy, and resistance to ultraviolet light, heat, moisture, mold, and other biological organisms. The text also explores modifications that increase mechanical strength, such as lumen fill, monomer polymer penetration, and plasticization. The Handbook of Wood Chemistry and Wood Composites concludes with the latest applications, such as adhesives, geotextiles, and sorbents, and future trends in the use of wood-based composites in terms of sustainable agriculture, biodegradability and recycling, and economics. Incorporating over 30 years of teaching experience, the esteemed editor of this handbook is well-attuned to educational demands as well as industry standards and research trends.

Wood has played a major role throughout human history. Strong and versatile, the earliest humans used wood to make shelters, cook food, construct tools, build boats, and make weapons. Recently, scientists, politicians, and economists have renewed their interest in wood because of its unique properties, aesthetics, availability, abundance, and perhaps most important of all, its renewability. However, wood will not reach its highest use potential until we fully describe it, understand the mechanisms that control its performance properties, and, finally, are able to manipulate those properties to give us the desired performance we seek. The Handbook of Wood Chemistry and Wood Composites analyzes the chemical composition and physical properties of wood cellulose and its response to natural processes of degradation. It describes safe and effective chemical modifications to strengthen wood against biological, chemical, and mechanical degradation without using toxic, leachable, or corrosive chemicals. Expert researchers provide insightful analyses of the types of chemical modifications applied to polymer cell walls in wood. They emphasize the mechanisms of reaction involved and resulting changes in performance properties including modifications that increase water repellency, fire retardancy, and resistance to ultraviolet light, heat, moisture, mold, and other biological organisms. The text also explores modifications that increase mechanical strength, such as lumen fill, monomer polymer penetration, and plasticization. The Handbook of Wood Chemistry and Wood Composites concludes with the latest applications, such as adhesives, geotextiles, and sorbents, and future trends in the use of wood-based composites in terms of sustainable agriculture, biodegradability and recycling, and economics. Incorporating decades of teaching experience, the editor of this handbook is well-attuned to educational demands as well as industry standards and research trends.

This book will focus on lignocellulosic fibres as a raw material for several applications. It will start with wood chemistry and morphology. Then, some fibre isolation processes will be given, before moving to composites, panel and paper manufacturing, characterization and aging.

New expanded second edition with key technical, regulatory and marketing developments from the past 10 years in the packaging industryCovers the materials, processes, and design of virtually all paper and fiberboard packaging for end-products, displays, storage and distributionNew information on European and global standards, selection criteria for paperboard, as well as emerging sustainability initiativesExplains recent tests, measurements and costs with ready-to-use calculations Ten years ago, the first edition of Cartons, Crates and Corrugated Board quickly became the standard reference book for wood- and paper-based packaging. Endorsed by TAPPI and other professional societies and used as a textbook worldwide, the book has now been extensively revised and updated by a team formed by the original authors and two additional authors. While preserving the critical performance and design data of the previous edition, this second expanded edition offers new information on the technologies, tests and regulations impacting the paper and corrugated industries worldwide, with a special focus on Europe and Japan. New information has been added on tests and novel designs for folded cartons, as well as expanded discussions of paperboard selection for specific applications, emerging barrier packaging, food contact and migration, and the dynamics and opportunities of corrugated in distribution systems. Recent developments on recycling and sustainability are also highlighted.

A solid collection of interdisciplinary review articles on the latest developments in adhesion science and adhesives technology With the ever-increasing amount of research being published, it is a Herculean task to be fully conversant with the latest research developments in any field, and the arena of adhesion and adhesives is no exception. Thus, topical review articles provide an alternate and very efficient way to stay abreast of the state-of-the-art in many subjects representing the field of adhesion science and adhesives. Based on the success of the preceding volumes in this series "Progress in Adhesion and Adhesives"), the present volume comprises 9 review articles published in Volume 6 (2018) of Reviews of Adhesion and Adhesives. The subject of these reviews fall into the following general areas: 1. Adhesion to wood and wood bonds 2. Adhesive joints 3. Adhesion in microelectronic packaging 4. Surface modification 5. Contact angle, wettability and surface free energy. The topics covered include: Adhesion phenomena in microelectronic packaging; adhesives for wood and lignocellulosic materials; adhesion to wood and lignocellulosic materials; adhesively bonded lap joints having bi-adhesive and modulus-graded bondlines; adhesion between compounded elastomers; applications of contact angle measurements in pharmaceuticals and foods; oxygen or ammonia plasma treatment of polyolefin surfaces; surface free energy determination of powders and particles; wood bonds; and dispersion adhesion forces between macroscopic objects.

Natural fiber composites have experienced a renaissance over the last two decades as a response to societal demands for developing eco-friendly, biodegradable and recyclable materials. They are now being extensively used in everyday products as well as in automotive, packaging, sports and the construction industries. These fibers require surface treatments in order to improve their properties and interfacial bonding with polymer matrices, and to reduce their hydrophilic character. These methods can be grouped into three major categories: chemical, physical and biological. Chemical methods use chemical reagents to reduce fibers' hydrophilic tendency and thus improve compatibility with the matrix. They also expose more reactive groups on the fibre surface to facilitate efficient coupling with the matrix. Physical methods change structural and surface properties of the fiber and thereby influence the interfacial bonding with matrices, without extensively changing the chemical composition of the fibers. They are cleaner and simpler than the chemical methods. Biological methods use biological agents like fungi, enzymes and bacteria to modify the fiber surface properties. These methods are not toxic like chemical methods and are not energy-intensive like physical methods.Surface Treatment Methods of Natural Fibers and their Effects on Biocomposites presents an overview and recent developments of these methods. All the major methods are reviewed, explaining the science and methodology behind each method. The effects of these methods on various properties of fibers and the biocomposites made from these fibers are analyzed in detail.The book will be an essential reference for academic researchers, materials scientists and engineers, postgraduate students and industrial researchers and development scientists and engineers working on natural fibers and biocomposites. - Extensive coverage of all the surface modification methods (chemical, physical, biological) of natural fibers and its effect on properties of produced composites - The chemical mechanisms which are utilized in surface treatments are discussed in detail and how these affect the interfacial properties and characteristics - Systematic and comprehensive review on surface modifications of natural fibres, and explains how the effect of the surface treatment can be characterized and measured, as well as the effect on properties