Structure Formation of Low-Density Boards from Hydrodynamically Activated Soft Wood Waste

Abstract

Wood boards find wide application in many fields, especially in house building. Research has been actively conducted in the field of obtaining low-density wood boards in the past 20 years. This article presents the results related to studying the influence of hydrodynamic processing of wood particles (sawdust) on their physical properties and dimensions, for the purposes of identifying the mechanism of autohesion interaction in formation of low-density boards without the binding agents. The particles were processed in a hydrodynamic rotary-pulsed disperser. Water retention value (WRV) was used in order to evaluate the degree of processing. A method for determination of water adsorption by wood, and scanning electron microscopy were taken as a criterion of the fibrillation size of wood particles and increase in available interphase surfaces as a result of processing. Hydrodynamically processed wood pulp was frozen at -60 degrees C and then lyophilized in order to preserve its capillary structure. As a result of the study, we have constructed sorption isotherms of the following samples: initial sawdust, sawdust processed in the hydrodynamic disperser and lyophilized, and low-density wood boards. It was found out that the sorption isotherms of hydrodynamically processed and lyophilized wood particles are considerably different from the isotherms of initial sawdust and final boards. The calculations made according to the BET method showed that the specific surface area of the processed and lyophilized wood particles is about 350 m(2)/g of dry weight, and the area of the initial sawdust and obtained boards is approximately 130 m(2)/g of dry weight. This suggests that hydrodynamic processing allows us to considerably increase the fibrillation of wood particles, thereby increase the area of available interphase surfaces, which creates the conditions for autohesion interaction between the particles. As a result the board structure is formed without binding agents. The dynamics of changes in the wood particles dimensions under hydrodynamic processing was studied by the scanning electron microscopy. Sawdust crushing and increasing the share of ribbon-shaped particles in the form of partially destroyed tracheids with fibrillated surfaces take place at that. The wood pulp becomes more homogeneous under the high degree of processing (water retention value by the Jaime method - 250 %).