Modification of the wood-plastic composite for enhancement of formaldehyde clearance and the 3D printing application

As the formaldehyde is one of the main indoor pollutants, the purpose of this study is to effectively remove indoor formaldehyde pollution by using environmentally friendly 3D printing ornaments. The wood 3D printing filaments cellulose/polylactic acid composite (Cellu/P) was selected as the starting material, and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) was used for chemical modification to obtain a series of cellulose composite materials with amino groups. The modified composite materials (APTES@Cellu/P) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and mechanical tests, and a formaldehyde removal experiment was performed. The feasibility of 3D printing was evaluated, and the process of 3D printing-functionalized customized ornaments was proposed, and then a school emblem was used for modeling, printing, and surface modification. Compared with the commercially traditional activated carbon, 3D printing-customized ornaments of APTES@Cellu/P material has a better formaldehyde removal effect, and can even avoid the secondary pollution that is common to the activated carbon.     

Environmental impact estimation of ceramic lightweight aggregates production starting from residues

Within a circular economy approach, this study investigates the environmental impact of lightweight aggregates (LWAs) produced starting from different mixes of different clays with brewery sludge and cattle bone flour ash (CBA), used as poring and fertilizing agents, respectively. The environmental impact was evaluated by means of release tests, insulation capacity, carbon footprint (CFP), and particulate matter emission during pellet firing. Release tests representative of LWAs realistic application showed very high release of phosphate and satisfactory release of potassium. The thermal insulation of the LWAs was tested by thermal imaging camera and resulted highly variable depending on the composition, with the mix containing CBA performing best. This latter composition leads also to the smallest CO₂ equivalent emission, due to the calorific power of CBA, allowing lower consumption of fossil fuels during the LWA production. Finally, total particulate emissions during the thermal treatment resulted similar in terms of mass for all mixes, while differences in terms of particle morphology and composition occurred. Samples containing residue resulted with a quite good release behavior, CFP, and insulation properties, but higher emission of particles, particularly when glass is added.     

Behavior of Decayed Spruce (Picea abies) during Kraft Pulping

This study indicated that by applying an improved classification system to decayed large-diameter Norway spruce (Picea abies) wood, its use as raw material for kraft pulping without loss of pulp quality could be essentially increased. This is based on the fact that although the cooking yield of decayed spruce material which has been sorted according to these new recommendations is somewhat lower and Kappa number higher than those of sound wood material, the greatest part of the decayed stem (the outer part of the stem) contains long-fiber wood material which produces pulp of good quality. Therefore, large-diameter spruce logs can also be separately used, for example, in the manufacture of reinforcement pulp.     

木粉疏水改性对HDPE基木塑复合材料性能的影响

采用一种操作简便且易于工业推广的方法对木粉进行疏水改性，具体过程为：将3种可热聚合的单体，即甲基丙烯酸甲酯（MMA）、甲基丙烯酸丁酯（BMA）和苯乙烯（St）均匀喷洒在木粉上，经过预热处理后，与配方中其他组分，如高密度聚乙烯（HDPE）和马来酸酐接枝聚乙烯（MAPE）等通过高速混合机混合均匀，采用双螺杆挤出机造粒后，注射制备木塑复合材料（WPC）样条，测试其力学性能。另外，考察了疏水改性对WPC接触角、维卡软化温度、洛氏硬度、吸水性能、热性能的影响规律。结果表明：疏水改性后WPC的接触角增大，木粉和HDPE的界面相容性改善，力学性能得到明显提高。其中，当MMA、BMA和St的添加量为3%时，WPC的力学性能最好，与疏水改性前相比，弯曲强度分别提高了17.3%、26.3%和27.5%，弯曲模量分别提高了24.4%、24.4%和26.0%，冲击强度分别提高了54.7%、57.7%和60.5%。 此外，疏水改性后WPC的维卡软化温度、洛氏硬度、耐水性和耐热性也得到改善。     

Effects of ozone treatment on pesticide residues in food: a review

In agriculture, pesticide residues have always posed a major safety hazard to human health. With the development of agricultural production and improvements in science and technology, additional methods for degradation of pesticide residues have emerged. Amongst them, ozone treatment recently became a popular method owing to its outstanding technical advantages. This review is an in-depth analysis of the mechanisms by which ozone treatment degrades pesticide residues. The main mechanism involves direct oxidation by oxygen atoms, and indirect oxidation driven by hydroxyl radicals. The effects of ozone treatment on pesticide residues in food with respect to the ozone concentration, duration of ozone treatment, type of food, variety of pesticides, level of pesticide residues and environmental factors have been discussed. Furthermore, the impact of ozone treatment on the quality of food is highlighted. Low levels of ozone result in minor changes to the visual and sensory characteristics of food. In addition, this article discusses several restrictions surrounding the current application of ozone treatment for the degradation of pesticide residues. More specifically, the most crucial issue is the potential toxicity of ozonation byproducts generated by the process, which is also the current focus of research on ozone treatment for the degradation of pesticide residues. After weighing the advantages and disadvantages of ozone treatment, it is recommended as a method of degrading pesticide residues.     

非常规蛋白基木材胶黏剂研究现状及发展前景

介绍了动物和植物型非常规蛋白资源的种类及其制备蛋白基木材胶黏剂的研究现状和存在的问题,展望了非常规蛋白胶黏剂的发展前景。     

Facile Morphological Qualification of Transferred Graphene by Phase-Shifting Interferometry

Post-growth graphene transfer to a variety of host substrates for circuitry fabrication has been among the most popular subjects since its successful development via chemical vapor deposition in the past decade. Fast and reliable evaluation tools for its morphological characteristics are essential for the development of defect-free transfer protocols. The implementation of conventional techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy in production quality control at an industrial scale is difficult because they are limited to local areas, are time consuming, and their operation is complex. However, through a one-shot measurement within a few seconds, phase-shifting interferometry (PSI) successfully scans ≈1 mm² of transferred graphene with a vertical resolution of ≈0.1 nm. This provides crucial morphological information, such as the surface roughness derived from polymer residues, the thickness of the graphene, and its adhesive strength with respect to the target substrates. Graphene samples transferred via four different methods are evaluated using PSI, Raman spectroscopy, and AFM. Although the thickness of the nanomaterials measured by PSI can be highly sensitive to their refractive indices, PSI is successfully demonstrated to be a powerful tool for investigating the morphological characteristics of the transferred graphene for industrial and research purposes.     

Phosphorylated cellulose/electrospun chitosan nanofibers media for removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions

Contamination of water resources by toxic heavy metals has significant impacts on environmental and human health. Their removal from aqueous media is essential to ensure water sustainability and to provide safe freshwater availability to population. Electrospun chitosan (CS) nonwoven mats are efficient at removing heavy metals from aqueous media. However, they suffer from low permeability and low-mechanical strength. They are also unable to remove contaminants in a nonselective way. A bilayer sorbent media made of a porous phosphorylated cellulose substrate covered by electrospun CS nanofibers was developed to overcome those weaknesses. The hydrophilic composite shows good water permeability and mechanical strength with appropriate thermal and chemical characteristics. Adsorption tests with Cd(II) indicate that pseudo-second order and Langmuir models best fitted experimental data, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 591 mg/g at 25°C. Adsorption with multielement samples containing Cr(VI), Cu(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) also reveal their capability to remove them in a selective way. This mechanically resistant, hydrophilic, and permeable adsorbent media was able to capture both cationic and anionic metallic contaminants.