Torrefied biomass‐polypropylene composites

Torrefied almond shells and wood chips were incorporated into polypropylene as fillers to produce torrefied biomass‐polymer composites. The composites were prepared by extrusion and injection molding. Response surface methodology was used to examine the effects of filler concentration, filler size, and lignin factor (relative lignin to cellulose concentration) on the material properties of the composites. The heat distortion temperatures, thermal properties, and tensile properties of the composites were characterized by thermomechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and tensile tests, respectively. The torrefied biomass composites had heat distortion temperatures of 8–24°C higher than that of neat polypropylene. This was due to the torrefied biomass restricting mobility of polypropylene chains, leading to higher temperatures for deformation. The incorporation of torrefied biomass generally resulted in an increase in glass transition temperature, but did not affect melting temperature. Also, the composites had lower tensile strength and elongation at break values than those of neat polypropylene, indicating weak adhesion between torrefied biomass and polypropylene. However, scanning electron microscopy results did indicate some adhesion between torrefied biomass and polypropylene. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41582.     

Book reviews

RESOURCE TRENDS AND POPULATION POLICY: A TIME FOR REASSESSMENT, by Lester R. Brown. Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C., May 1979; Worldwatch Paper 29. (Paperback $2.00)

THE NEXT SEVENTY YEARS: POPULATION, FOOD AND RESOURCES, by B. Gil‐land. Abacus Press, London, 1979. 133 pp. (£9.50)

POPULATION POLICY ANALYSIS, edited by M. E. Kraft and M. Schneider. D. C. Heath, London, 1979. (£0.00)

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT, by Brian B. Clark, Ronald Bisset and Peter Wath‐ern. Manssell, London and Bowker, New York, 1980. 516 pp. (£0.00)

ADVANCES IN ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Vol. 11, edited by Amyan MacFadyen. Academic Press, London, 1980. 428 pp. (£25.00)

MICROBIAL GROWTH AND SURVIVAL IN EXTREMES OF ENVIRONMENT, edited by G. W. Gould and Janet E. Cory. Academic Press, London, 1980. 244 pp. (£16.00)

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: Port Growth and Emerging Coastal Management Programs, by Marc Hershman, Robert Goodwin, Andrew Ruot‐sala, Maureen McCrea and Yehuda Hayuth. A Washington Sea Grant Publication, 1978. 212 pp. ($12.50)

HANDBOOK OF INDUSTRIAL ENERGY ANALYSIS, by J. Boustead and G. F. Hancock. Ellis‐Harwood, Chichester, U.K., 1979. (£25.00)

TREE GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES, by T. T. Kozlowski. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, 1979. vii + 192 pp. (£12.50)

ALL GOOD THINGS AROUND US, by Pamela Michael. Illustrated by Christabel King. Ernest Benn Ltd., London, 1980. 240 pp. (£12.95)

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY (2nd Edition), by A. V. Perpillou. Longman Group, London, U.K., 1977. xviii + 570 pp. 37 pls., 27 maps and diagrams, Index. (Paperback £5.50)

INDUSTRIAL AND HAZARDOUS WASTES IMPOUNDMENT, by N. P. Cheremisinoff, P. N. Cheremisinoff, F. Ellerbeck and A. J. Perna. Ann Arbor Science, Michigan, 1979. ix + 475 pp. Index. (£16.25)

PHOSPHORUS IN THE ENVIRONMENT: ITS CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY. (Ciba Foundation No. 57, New Series), by Ruth Porter and David W. Fitzsimons. Elsevier, 1978. (£18.15)

TOXIC AND HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL. Vol. II, edited by R. B. Pojasek (Options for Sterilization Solidifications). Ann Arbor Science, Michigan, U.S.A., 1979, 259 pp. (£19.80)

SON OF THE WILDERNESS (The Life of John Muir), by Linnie Marsh Wolfe. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 1978. 364 pp. (Paperback £4.90)

NATURE'S PRICE, by W. van Dieren and M. G. W. Hummelinck. Marion Boyars, London, Boston, 1979. (Paperback £3.50)

PERMACULTURE ONE, by Bill (B. C.) Molli‐son and David Holmgren. Corgi Books, Trans‐world Publishers Ltd., Melbourne, Australia. 128 pp. (A $4.95)

ENVIRONMENTAL AERODYNAMICS, by R. S. Scorer. Ellis Horwood, Chichester, U.K., 1978. 488 pp. (Hardback £20.00; paperback £7.50)     

Long-Run Trends in Victorian Housing Affordability and First Transition into Homeownership

Over the past two decades housing pathways have become increasingly differentiated between generations, particularly in advanced societies dominated by owner-occupied tenure systems. Demographic transformations caused by aging and falling fertility rates, along with a more volatile economy and a neo-liberal reorientation of governance have combined to restructure housing conditions. Drawing on empirical research in Japan, this paper illustrates the social origins and impact of generation-based differentiations in housing patterns in that country. It considers the housing experiences of three cohorts: baby-boomers, baby-busters and the ‘lost generation’. The contrast of housing pathways between these generations in Japan illustrates the contemporary dynamics of housing and social processes in homeowner societies.