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The affinity of particleboard (PB) to water is one of the main limitations for using PB in moisture-rich environments. PB dimensional stability and durability can be improved by reducing the available hydroxyl groups in wood through hemicellulose removal, for example, by hot water extraction (HWE), which increases wood resistance to moisture uptake. The resulting liquid fraction from HWE is rich in hemicelluloses and can be used for chemicals and fuels, and the solid fraction is less hydrophilic. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of HWE of softwood chips (conducted at 160°C and 90 min) and hardwood chips (160°C and 120 min) on the properties of PB panels. HWE increased compressibility and reduced springback by 34% and 44% for pine and maple chips, respectively, which positively impacted the PB properties. Water absorption of pine PB panels was lowered by 35% and that of maple PB panels by 30%, while reduction of thickness swelling was lowered by 39% for pine PB and 56% for maple PB after 24 h of immersion in water. The mechanical properties were not significantly affected.

Anaerobically digested fibrous solid (AD fiber) is an abundant material that offers potential to produce value-added products such as biochar. The objective of this paper is to better understand how thermochemical processing conditions affect the capacity of biochars derived from AD fiber to adsorb HS from biogas. AD fiber was pyrolyzed in an electric tube reactor at temperatures up to 600 °C and 60 min. The chars were employed for HS scrubbing tests from a synthetic biogas. Results showed that the chars' capacity for HS removal is comparable to that of activated carbon. An additional step consisting of impregnation of the chars with NaCO resulted in an improved capacity for HS removal. To study the effect of ash, the AD fiber was also subjected to an alternative thermal treatment, hot water extraction (HWE), at 200 °C for 60 min. The resulting HWE material showed no removal of HS from biogas, indicating that the ash and the environment employed for the thermal treatment of AD fiber play an important role in the char's performance for HS removal. Results also suggest that a portion of the S in the charcoal after the HS sorption process exists as free or adsorbed S (i.e., not chemically bonded to the charcoal).

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