Evaluation of wood-polyethylene composites biodegradability caused by filamentous fungi

Resistance of Conifer Needle Polyolefin Composites (CNPCs) Against Biodecomposition Caused by Fungi

“…The studies on the composites (with conifer needles) exposed to biodegradation caused by A. niger showed that those materials offered a higher resistance than the previously described WPCs which contained conifer flour [19]. This can be accounted for by a high (initial) content of extractives in the composites and/or by a high cellulolytic activity of A. niger [19,47].…”

“…In our previous paper [19] we described structural changes that resulted from the impact of A. niger on the composites that contained various kinds of wood flour (coniferous, cellulose, deciduous). It was concluded that the smallest structural changes associated with the progress of the biodegradation process were observed for the composites which contained coniferous flour.…”

“…This can be accounted for by a high (initial) content of extractives in the composites and/or by a high cellulolytic activity of A. niger [19,47]. Huang et al [48] indicated in 2010 that the lignin-carbohydrate complex constitutes a barrier for accessibility to cellulose and hemicellulose, thus lowering the rate of biodegradation.…”

“…On the one hand, there are studies that have shown the examples of WPCs and have indicated that the polymer matrix can completely encapsulate the wood filler particles and therefore protect them against biodegradation [17]. On the other hand, there are studies that suggest that the WPCs biodegradation process starts from biodecomposition of the plant filler particles, and it is dependent on plant species and on microbial activity [18,19]. Lomelí-Ramírez et al [20] indicated that WPCs which contained pine wood flour were less susceptible to the fungal attack than WPCs which had been filled with oak or maple flour.…”

Wear Properties of Wood-plastic Composites Pretreated with a Stearic Acid-palmitic Acid Mixture before Exposure to Degradative Water Conditions

“…Thermal degradation of the SS/PVC composites occurred over a wide temperature range (260 °C to 500 °C). The four TG curves were divided into two stages of weight loss: before 150 °C, when volatilization of free and bound water occurred, and after 150 °C, when the degradation of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin (main components of the lignocellulosic materials) occurred in the temperature ranges of 200 °C to 350 °C, 275 °C to 350 °C, and 250 °C to 500 °C, respectively (Jeske et al 2012;Barton-Pudlik et al 2017). In addition, PVC degradation mainly occurred in the temperature range of 285.6 °C to 352.3 °C, forming de-HCl PVC and volatiles, such as HCl, benzene, toluene, and other hydrocarbons, and cracking and decomposition of the de-HCl PVC occurred in the temperature range of 439.9 °C to 485.2 °C.…”