Sawdust composts in soil improvement
As indicated in a previous paper 2) the use of wood wastes in soil improvement has received considerable attention lately. Composting seems to offer large possibilities for avoiding the adverse effects of fresh sawdust and to utilize the potentialities of sawdust as a soil builder in the best fashion. The literature on composting of various waste products has been listed and reviewed very comprehensively i n t w 0 recent publications 1). The investigations rePorted here are preliminary tests of methods of composting sawdust and tests of the resulting materials on plant growth in greenhouse pot cultures.
Sawdust composts in soil improvement
The experimental work here reported is a continuation of the pre• liminary tests of methods of sawdust composting reported previouslY 5), Results are given of further pot culture tests with plants in composts mentioned there after longer periods of decomposition. Information also was sought on effects of treatment with highpressure steam on sawdust-manure mixtures and on effects of varying proportions of sawdust to soil on plant growth.
Influence of starch addition on properties of urea formaldehyde/starch copolymer blends for application as a binder in the coating industry
Urea formaldehyde resin was reactively blended with various concentrations (10 to 70%) of cassava starch in order to develop a paint binder for emulsion paint formulation. Some physical properties and formaldehyde emission of the blended resin were investigated. Viscosity initially decreased before a gradual increase was noted with increase in starch concentration. Refractive index and elongation at break increased initially but gradually decreased with cassava starch content in the blend. Gel time, density, melting point, moisture uptake and formaldehyde emission decreased with increase in starch inclusion. The interaction between the two different polymers shows that 50% starch was the optimal loading inclusion. This new system has advantages of low brittleness, low formaldehyde emission and water reduction characteristics. Therefore the polymer blend can be recommended as binder for coating industry. 
 
   
 
 Key words: Urea formaldehyde, starch, copolymer, binder.