Nechita Petronela, Năstac Silviu Marian
Research and Consultancy Center for Agronomy and Environment, Engineering and Agronomy Faculty in Brăila, "Dunărea de Jos" University of Galați, 810017 Braila, Romania.
Research Center for Mechanics of Machines and Technological Equipments, Engineering and Agronomy Faculty in Brăila, "Dunărea de Jos" University of Galați, 810017 Braila, Romania.
Polymers (Basel). 2022 May 11;14(10):1963. doi: 10.3390/polym14101963.
Wet foam can be used as a carrier in the manufacturing of lightweight materials based on natural and man-made fibers and specific additives. Using a foam forming method and cellulose fibers, it is possible to produce the porous materials with large area of end-using such as protective and cushioning packaging, filtering, hydroponic, thermal and sound absorption insulation, or other building materials. In comparison with the water-forming used for conventional paper products, foam-forming method provides many advantages. In particular, since fibers inside the foam are mostly trapped between the foam bubbles, the formed materials have an excellent homogeneity. This allows for using long fibers and a high consistency in head box without significant fiber flocking. As result, important savings in water and energy consumptions for dewatering and drying of the foam formed materials are obtained. In cushioning packaging, foam-formed cellulose materials have their specific advantages comparing to other biodegradable packaging (corrugated board, molded pulp) and can be a sustainable alternative to existing synthetic foams (i.e., expanded polystyrene or polyurethane foams). This review discusses the technical parameters to be controlled during foam forming of cellulose materials to ensure their performances as cushioning and protective packaging. The focus was on the identification of practical solutions to compensate the strength decreasing caused by reduced density and low resistance to water of foam formed cellulose materials.
湿泡沫可作为一种载体，用于制造基于天然和人造纤维以及特定添加剂的轻质材料。通过泡沫成型方法和纤维素纤维，可以生产出具有大面积最终用途的多孔材料，如保护性和缓冲性包装、过滤、水培、热吸收和隔音隔热，或其他建筑材料。与用于传统纸制品的水成型相比，泡沫成型方法具有许多优点。特别是，由于泡沫内部的纤维大多被困在泡沫气泡之间，所形成的材料具有优异的均匀性。这使得可以使用长纤维，并在流浆箱中保持高浓度，而不会出现明显的纤维聚集。结果，在泡沫成型材料的脱水和干燥过程中，水和能源消耗得到了显著节省。在缓冲包装方面，与其他可生物降解包装（瓦楞纸板、模塑纸浆）相比，泡沫成型纤维素材料具有其特定优势，并且可以成为现有合成泡沫（即发泡聚苯乙烯或聚氨酯泡沫）的可持续替代品。本文综述了纤维素材料泡沫成型过程中需要控制的技术参数，以确保其作为缓冲和保护性包装的性能。重点是确定切实可行的解决方案，以弥补泡沫成型纤维素材料因密度降低和耐水性差而导致的强度下降。
