Laminated Wallboard Panels Made with Cellulose Nanofibrils as a Binder: Production and Properties

Abstract

This study explored the development and characterization of laminated wallboard panels using renewable materials for building applications. The panels are based on cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) as a binder and wood particles. Other additives included FiberLeanTM (microfibrillated cellulose/calcium carbonate composite), starch and fire retardant (boric acid/borax). These panels are also intended to address the environmental concerns of commercial gypsum boards. The manufacturing of the panels is via a wet-based process; hence no initial drying was required to remove the water from the CNF. It was found that the dosage of CNF (and/or FiberLeanTM) binder and the addition of starch had the largest impact upon the quality of the final product. The addition of starch was found more favorable in the presence of FiberLeanTM. The fire retardancy was induced by adding boric acid/borax (1:1). The burning test revealed that the panels treated with the fire retardant exhibited excellent burning properties comparable to that of gypsum board (inherently fire resistant). Interestingly, the addition of the boric acid/borax also appeared to increase the retention of starch in the system, leading to favorable mechanical properties.

Modeling Microwave Heating and Drying of Lignocellulosic Foams through Coupled Electromagnetic and Heat Transfer Analysis

“…During experiments, the moisture loss due to evaporation of water reduced the weight of the samples. This phenomenon is imitated in the drying simulation by reducing the volume determined from Equation (12). Drying scenarios presented in Table 3 are considered to establish this modeling approach as a viable method.…”

“…CNF is a major group of cellulose nanomaterials that is mainly produced from softwood bleached pulp through a mechanical fibrillation process [8]. The binder applications of CNFs have recently attracted a lot of attention and various products such as paper laminates [9], particleboard [10], fiberboard [11] and wallboard [12] that take advantage of the impressive binder properties of CNF have been developed. These binder properties can be exploited to generate rigid foams if a method to produce them can be found.…”

Influence of the molecular weight of carboxymethylcellulose on properties of Binder Jetting manufactured parts

“…Cellulose has the chemical formula C 28 H 30 Na 8 O 27 and contains several hydroxyl groups throughout the chain that allow hydrogen bonds to form with strength of 25 kJ/mol [11]. CMC is an anionic water-soluble polysaccharide and has been used in a wide range of food products as a viscosity modifier or thickener [12], to stabilise emulsions in various products and as binder in different applications [13] such as building materials [14,15]. The functional properties of CMC depend on its molecular weight, the degree of substitution (DS) of the cellulose structure (i.e., how many of the hydroxyl groups have taken part in the substitution reaction), as well as the chain length of the cellulose backbone structure and the degree of macromolecular aggregation of the carboxymethyl substituents [16].…”

Comprehensive Insight into Foams Made of Thermomechanical Pulp Fibers and Cellulose Nanofibrils via Microwave Radiation

“…Using cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) as the sole reinforcement in three-dimensional (3D) and low-density fiber networks remains largely unexplored, and little is known about the potential and structure–property relationship of CNF-bound foams. The binding ability of CNF in other denser wood products such as particleboards, paper laminates, and wallboards − was attributed to the mechanical interlocking and hydrogen bonds. In these products, water was removed as a result of contact dewatering, where bound water is easily removed from CNF at room temperature when it is in contact with a hydrophilic surface such as wood particles .…”