| Aug 25, 2012 |
Quality of wood composite boards improved by nanoclay, silica nanoparticles
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(Nanowerk News) Researchers at the Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Gorgan, Iran, managed to fabricate oriented strand boards (OSB) from low quality paulownia wood by using nanoclay and nanosilica.
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Regarding the shortfall in the forest resources, cylindrical trees in particular, this wood composite product can serve as a replacement for plywood and is predicted to have various applications in interior designs of the buildings, household appliances, packaging boxes, ceilings and roofs, gym flooring, etc.
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“The use of paulownia as a fast-growing species not only is in favor of forest protection, but also can help to balance the demand for raw wood materials in our country. Thanks to nanotechnology, and inclusion of some nanoparticles to be more specific, it is possible to produce light weight composite wood panels with improved mechanical strengths,” Ayyoub Salari, a member of the research team, explained to the News Service of INIC.
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“The added nanoparticles boost the physical-mechanical resistance of the ultimate product on one hand, and form a strong bond with the adhesive agents to block the exit pathways of the toxic formaldehyde gas and prevent its emission up to a great deal, on the other hand,” Salari added.
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Two elaborate reports discussing the technical details of this research work have been recently published in Industrial Crops and Products ("Improving some of applied properties of oriented strand board (OSB) made from underutilized low quality paulownia (Paulownia fortunie) wood employing nano-SiO2") and Journal of Wood Science ("Effect of nanoclay on some applied properties of oriented strand board (OSB) made from underutilized low quality paulownia (Paulownia fortunei) wood").
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