Mechanization techniques for poplar development in Turkey

Annual commercial poplar wood production in Turkey is about 3.6 million cubic meters, half of which comes from hybrid poplar I-214. The poplar plantation areas of Turkey are 70% of the poplar plantation areas of the Near and Middle Eastern countries, and nearly 5% of the world. In this study, unit times of standard operations were investigated in poplar nurseries and plantations in which new mechanical technology was applied and compared with traditional methods. Analyses of unit times were made on 11 treatments for poplar nurseries and nine treatments for poplar plantations; some new methods are also recommended. Mechanization methods based on new technologies give promising results in poplar nurseries and plantations.     

一种固化河湖底泥重金属的改良方法

重金属在河湖底泥中的积聚已成为我国的一大环境问题,通过及时妥善的技术处理,可以避免重金属对环境的二次污染。基于生石灰降低底泥含水量,锯末灰初步固化,采用水泥和矿粉+水泥2种方式对生石灰-锯末灰固化后的污泥进一步固化的方法,对天津西青区某河流污染底泥开展试验。基于原子吸收分光法对试验样品进行重金属浸出浓度分析,比较水泥和矿粉+水泥固化2种方法的固化效果。研究表明,当生石灰掺入比为9%,养护2 d 时,污泥的含水率明显降低。锯末灰掺入比10% 、水泥掺入比20%、矿粉换掺水泥40%时,底泥中的 Ni²⁺ 、 Hg²⁺ 、 Pb²⁺ 、 Cd²⁺ 4种超标重金属浸出浓度分别降低71.61%、84.85%、58.49%、77.78%,均满足相关技术规范要求。为检验固化土的种植效果,选用牛筋草和牛繁缕2种植物进行室内60 d种植试验,发现2种植物的光合作用、根部发育、生长速度都很正常。结果表明生石灰掺入比9%、锯末灰掺入比10%、水泥掺入比20%、矿粉换掺水泥40%的固化方案得到的固化土可用于绿化种植。     

Mechanical properties of composites from sawdust and recycled plastics

Mechanical properties of wood plastic composites (WPCs) manufactured from sawdust and virgin and/or recycled plastics, namely high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP), were studied. Sawdust was prepared from beech industrial sawdust by screening to the desired particle size and was mixed with different virgin or recycled plastics at 50% by weight fiber loading. The mixed materials were then compression molded into panels. Flexural and tensile properties and impact strength of the manufactured WPCs were determined according to the relevant standard specifications. Although composites containing PP (virgin and recycled) exhibited higher stiffness and strength than those made from HDPE (virgin and recycled), they had lower unnotched impact strengths. Mechanical properties of specimens containing recycled plastics (HDPE and PP) were statistically similar and comparable to those of composites made from virgin plastics. This was considered as a possibility to expand the use of recycled plastics in the manufacture of WPCs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 3641–3645, 2006     

Effects of compatibilizer type and rubber‐wood sawdust content on the mechanical,morphological, and thermal properties of PVC/LDPE blend

This article aimed to investigate the mechanical, morphological and thermal properties of PVC/LDPE blend with and without the addition of compatibilizers. The effects of LDPE content, compatibilizer type and rubber‐wood sawdust loading on the properties of the blend were evaluated. The experimental results suggested that as the LDPE content was increased the mechanical properties of PVC‐LDPE blend progressively decreased due to poor interfacial adhesion. The continuity and compatibility between PVC and LDPE phases could be improved through three different types of compatibilizers which included chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) poly(methyl‐methacrylate‐co‐butyl acrylate) (PA20) and poly(ethylene‐co‐methacrylate) (Elvaloy). The PA20 was found to be the most suitable compatibilizer for the blend. A radical transfer reaction was proposed in this work to explain the structure and thermal changes of the PVC in PVC‐LDPE blend. The decomposition temperature of PVC in the blend decreased with the loading of the PA20 and the wood sawdust. As the sawdust content was increased the tensile and flexural moduli increased with considerable decreased in the tensile, flexural and impact strength, a slight improvement being achieved if the PA20 was incorporated in the composite. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 598–606, 2006     

木屑生物质活性炭脱除气体SO2的实验研究

以木屑作为制备生物质活性炭的原料,对比研究未改性、采用氨水和NaOH活化对SO2吸附性能的影响,以探讨木屑生物制活性炭对SO2吸附的可行性。研究结果表明随着吸附时间的增加,未活化的、氨水活化以及NaOH活化的木屑炭对SO2的吸附量都增加;活化后的木屑炭吸附SO2的性能比未活化的木屑炭要好;NaOH活化的木屑炭比氨水活化的木屑炭吸附SO2能力强,NaOH比氨水的活化效果更好。采用生物质活性炭来吸附烧结烟气中的SO2是可行的。     

松木屑与褐煤共热解特性及动力学分析

利用热重分析仪对松木屑及褐煤进行共热解实验研究,考察了掺混比对共热解特性的影响,利用过渡态理论计算了共热解动力学参数,并分析了共热解过程的协同性.结果表明:共热解DTG曲线存在两个失重峰,分别对应松木屑和褐煤的热解,木屑加掺混比例增大,失重峰对应的温度升高;松木屑与褐煤共热解比褐煤单独热解更容易发生,且共热解高温段的反应比低温段复杂;在共热解的第三阶段存在有利的协同效应,且在掺混比例为50％时协同性最强.     

Inversion of a radiative transfer model with hyperspectral observations for LAI mapping in poplar plantations

The potential of radiative transfer modelling and inversion techniques for operational uses is investigated in order to retrieve leaf area index in a poplar plantation. The 1-D bidirectional canopy reflectance model SAIL, coupled with the leaf optical properties model PROSPECT, was inverted with hyperspectral airborne DAIS data by means of an iterative method. The root mean square error in LAI estimation was determined against in situ measurements in order to evaluate the impact of different inversion strategies on the LAI retrieval accuracy. These included the selection of an optimal spectral sampling set, the exploitation of prior knowledge in the inversion process and the use of multiview angle data. We claim that the best configuration is achieved by exploiting multiview DAIS data and prior knowledge information about the model variables (RMSE of 0.39 m² m⁻²). It is also shown that the use of prior knowledge and the selection of a limited number of bands forming the optimal spectral sampling are instrumental in increasing the accuracy of the inversion process. Our analysis confirms the operational potential of model inversion for biophysical parameter retrieval.     

Anatomical characteristics,microfibril angle and micromechanical properties of cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and its hybrids

Samples were prepared using stem xylem from cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and two cottonwood hybrids (P. deltoides × Populus maximowiczii and P. deltoides × Populus trichocarpa), which grew in Tennessee, United States. The anatomical characteristics, microfibril angle, and mechanical properties of the cell wall in juvenile wood (two-year-old) were investigated by means of microscopy image analysis system, X-ray diffraction, and nanoindentation (NI). The results showed that the double-wall thickness of the fiber cells in the hybrid poplars was thicker than that of the pure poplar, and the ratio of wall to lumen of fiber cell (0.40) of the P. deltoides × P. trichocarpa, which had the slowest growth rate, reached the greatest value among the three poplar clones. Their microfibril angles (MFA) of the cell wall in the investigated samples ranged between 11.5° and 16.7°, and they correlated positively with growth rates of the three poplar clones. The average hardness and reduced elastic modulus were 0.25 GPa and 8.58 GPa for P. deltoides, 0.28 GPa and 8.34 GPa for P. deltoides × P. maximowiczii, and 0.31 GPa and 12.2 GPa for P. deltoides × P. trichocarpa, respectively. P. deltoides × P. trichocarpa with the slowest growth rate had the greatest micromechanical values among the three poplar clones. In combination with growth characteristics of the three poplar clones, the findings of the analyses on their wood properties provided information-rich data that not only could describe juvenile wood properties but also could be used in selective breeding for the three poplar clones in Tennessee, USA.     

Experimental study on sawdust gasification in a spout–fluid bed reactor

This paper summarizes the experimental results of sawdust gasification in a spout–fluid bed reactor. Three scenarios were investigated in this study. In the base case scenario, a total of 15 experiments consisting of three different flow rates (55, 65 and 75 m³ h^{? 1}) of primary air of each of having five equivalence ratios (ER) (0.35, 0.3, 0.25, 0.2 and 0.15) were conducted. The influence of secondary air in the freeboard and the effect of the recirculation of carryover captured by the cyclone to the reactor's freeboard at an ER of 0.25 were investigated in two other scenarios. Higher heating values of 3.02 and 5.15 MJ Nm^{? 3} were obtained with the ER values of 0.35 and 0.15, respectively, in the base case. However, opposite trend was observed for the tar content in the producer gas. At ER of 0.35, a value of 2.35 g Nm^{? 3} was found compared with 8.4 g Nm^{? 3} at ER of 0.15. The tar content in the producer gas was reduced from 5.63 to 1.53 g Nm^{? 3} when secondary air was supplied in the freeboard due to an increase in temperature. The gasification efficiency was increased from 24.96% at the base case to 36.22% with the recirculation of carryover. Higher heating value of producer gas was found to be 4.2–4.4 MJ Nm^{? 3} in this case. The second law analysis of this process estimated the average exergy efficiency as 35.92% at ER of 0.35 and it increased with increasing ER. The recirculation of carryover not only increased the carbon conversion efficiency but also the exergy efficiency. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of the agricultural management practices on the yield and quality of poplar biomass (a 9-year study)

The aim of this work is to study the effect of different agricultural management on the yield and quality of two poplar biomass clones (AF2 and I-214 clones) in short rotation coppices (SRC), which were harvested using different alternatives (with and without cutting and sprouting after the first year), with two fertilisation doses and through three different 3-year rotation cycles. The plantation was established in 2006 in a marginal land at 1100 m above sea level in central-northern Spain. Yields were evaluated and biomass samples were analysed to determine the quality of the biomass for energy purposes. Biomass quality was estimated taking into account calorific value, volatile matter, ash content, carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and chlorine contents, as well as the chemical composition and melting behaviour of their ashes.The highest yields, around 9 dry tons per hectare and year, were obtained in this marginal land during the first and second rotation cycles when plots received a supplementary fertilisation. Both clones (AF2 and I-214) provided similar yield and biomass quality. Plots where poplar was not harvested the first year (without cutting and sprouting after the first year) provided higher accumulated yields. Poplar biomass from SRC can be considered a suitable solid biofuel due to its appropriate ash melting behaviour and its low content of nitrogen (0.44 wt-%), sulphur (0.03 wt-%) and chlorine (around 0.01 wt-%). No important significance effect on the poplar quality can be found depending on the additional fertilisation. Poplar quality varied as a function of root/stem age.