Manufacture of flame retardant foaming board from waste papers reinforced with phenol-formaldehyde resin.
A new flame retardant and waterproof porous fiberboard was manufactured from waste newspapers by using a foaming agent and a reinforcing phenol-formaldehyde resin. To find the optimum conditions for forming fiberboard with high mechanical properties as well as flame retardant and waterproof characteristics, a series of experiments were performed with varying weight percentages of resin (w). The results indicate that the best quality of the fiberboard was obtained for w approximately 11%.
Effects of Micronized Fibers on the Cushion Properties of Foam Buffer Package Materials
Foam buffer package materials composed of plant fibers have been a focus of research in recent years because of their environmentally beneficial ability to become fully disintegrated. In this study, bleached bagasse pulp was micronized using a PFI mill, and foam buffer materials were prepared using the micronized fiber. The effects of the beating degree of micronized fibers on the dimensional stability, moisture absorption, static compression, and dynamic compression characteristics were discussed. Results showed that, in both the static and the dynamic compression experiments, the buffer properties improved with an increasing beating degree. The buffer materials made of highly micronized fiber were stronger under pressure and impact. Specifically, the highly micronized fiber’s ability to absorb energy curing impact was improved, demonstrating that it can support a higher compression and impacting load in a certain deformation scope. However, during the drying process, the dimensional stability of the samples also declined with an increasing beating degree. The moisture absorption of the samples improved when the beating degree was increased.
Experimental investigation of the geotechnical properties and microstructure of lime-stabilized saline soils under freeze-thaw cycling
Abstract The Song-Nen Plain in northeastern China holds one of the three largest expanses of soda saline-alkali soil in the world. Due to its disadvantageous geotechnical properties, the saline soil in this area is unable to meet the needs of construction projects. This study evaluates the stabilizing effect of adding lime to such soils. Specifically, it investigates how the physicochemical and mechanical properties and microstructure of soda saline-alkali soil are altered by lime and how these changes are affected by both freeze-thaw cycling and the duration of curing. The results reveal that adding lime to saline soil transforms clay particles into sand and silt particles and causes the pore size distribution (PSD) to become bimodal, with small-pore and macropore populations. An increase in lime content leads to an increase in the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) but a gradual decrease in both the cation exchange capacity (CEC) and plastic index. Freeze-thaw cycles break up coarse particles and aggregate finer particles, increasing the diameter of macropores and decreasing the USC; however, the effect on specimens with >9% lime is negligible. It is further shown that the geotechnical properties of the soil change immediately after the addition of lime, indicating that the cation exchange reaction takes place very quickly. Furthermore, the pozzolanic reaction leads to an increase in the percentage of sand-sized particles and a decrease in porosity after 28 days of curing. Overall, these results indicate that it is feasible to use lime to improve the engineering properties of soda saline-alkali soil in this area.