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Resources and Sustainable Materials
Published in Stanley E. Manahan, Environmental Chemistry, 2022
A major use of wood is in paper manufacture. The widespread use of paper is a mark of an industrialized society. The manufacture of paper is a highly advanced technology. Paper consists essentially of cellulosic fibers tightly pressed together. To make paper, the lignin fraction must first be removed from the wood, leaving the cellulosic fraction. Both the sulfite and alkaline processes for accomplishing this separation have resulted in severe water and air pollution problems, now significantly alleviated through the application of advanced treatment technologies.
Chemical Modification Processes
Published in Dick Sandberg, Andreja Kutnar, Olov Karlsson, Dennis Jones, Wood Modification Technologies, 2021
Dick Sandberg, Andreja Kutnar, Olov Karlsson, Dennis Jones
The introduction of hot-melt wax (melting point 80°C) is said to give good dimensional stability and durability as well as strength. According to the patented Dauerholz™ process, the wood is impregnated with a liquid wax inside an autoclave, followed by a defined post-conditioning process to achieve an equilibrium moisture content and consistent wax distribution inside the wood. The treated wood can then be passed through the usual processing steps, such as sawing, planing and profiling.
Building Materials
Published in P.K. Jayasree, K Balan, V Rani, Practical Civil Engineering, 2021
P.K. Jayasree, K Balan, V Rani
Treating with wood preservatives: Some of the wood preservatives may harm humans and other creatures. For this reason, if wood is used outdoor in situations where it is often wet or in close proximity to liquid water, then wood must be treated with wood-preserving chemicals to achieve long-term durability.
Isolation of endophytic bacteria from the medicinal, forestal and ornamental tree Handroanthus impetiginosus
Published in Environmental Technology, 2022
Mauro Enrique Yarte, María Inés Gismondi, Berta Elizabet Llorente, Ezequiel Enrique Larraburu
Handroanthus impetiginosus (Mart. ex DC.) Mattos (syn. Tabebuia impetiginosa, Bignoniaceae) ‘pink lapacho’ or ‘pink ipê’ is a medicinal, ornamental and forestal tree native of the Americas, distributed throughout forests in Central and South American forest. The medicinal use is related to metabolites extracted from its inner bark (mainly lapachol and lapachona) with documented antitumoral and antibiotic effects [7]. It has been used by indigenous people and in herbal medicine as a general immunostimulant for indigestion, infections of bacterial, fungal, parasitic and viral origin, smoker’s cough and arthritis. However, the lapachol toxicity in rats and its strong antibiotic and disinfectant properties indicate it should be used in topical applications [8]. The ornamental value lies in the showy pink bloom that occurs in late winter, when it is still devoid of foliage. In addition, its wood is used for construction of medium and heavy structures, floors, musical instruments, etc. It is exported largely to North America for residential decking and it is currently under significant illegal trading. The high pressure of logging on this species by commerce and agricultural practice has become a major cause of deforestation in the Amazon and it necessitates conservation efforts of existing populations throughout America [7].
Sustainability and wood constructions: a review of green building rating systems and life-cycle assessment methods from a South African and developing world perspective
Published in Advances in Building Energy Research, 2021
Philip L. Crafford, C. Brand Wessels, Melanie Blumentritt
Wood has played a major role throughout human history as construction material for buildings, tools, and ships but also as fuel. Wood has the advantage over many other materials of being a sustainable and renewable natural resource. Next to its natural beauty, wood is characterized by a high strength per weight ratio while being easy to work with (Tsoumis, 1991). It also often serves multifunctional purposes, for example a wooden wall can have structural, aesthetical and insulating purposes. In terms of insulation, wood is 400 times better than steel and 10 times better than concrete (per volume) in resisting the flow of heat due to its low conductivity and good insulating ability, which can lead to significant energy savings (Stalnaker & Harris, 2013). Wood has predictable behaviour in fire and in some instances has advantages over steel in terms of fire ratings possible for building (Dinwoodie, 2000). Wood is bio-degradable and can reduce the pollution at landfill sites and surrounding environment (Wang, Toppinen, & Juslin, 2014). Trees absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, release oxygen and store the carbon in their stems, branches, leaves and root-systems as part of the photosynthetic process. Trees that die or decompose release this carbon back into the atmosphere. However, when trees are harvested and manufactured into timber and other forest products, these products continue to store carbon for the lifetime of their use, while the regenerated forest once again begins absorbing CO2. Since recovered wood can easily be reused and recycled, or can be used as a bioenergy source, burdens on the environment caused by disposal of construction materials in landfills can be avoided (Lippke et al., 2011).
Valorization of cotton waste ash in the formulation of compressed earth blocks
Published in Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures, 2023
Mey Mahamat Imar, Malick Diakhate, Lynn Myllyam Beleuk A Moungam, Andre Talla, Blaise Nsom, Pierre Meukam
The use of earth as a building material is now a response to this growing need for housing in developing countries. Raw earth is a locally available material and requires less energy to manufacture than many other building materials [6]. Cameroon, like tropical countries in general, has enormous raw material resources, especially laterite, available in about 67% of the country [7]. Earth is used in several forms such as raw earth (adobe, rammed earth, and cob) and fired earth. The latter, although efficient, requires the use of wood for cooking and therefore has a negative impact on the environment by contributing to deforestation.