Jacobsen Eirik Ulsaker, Følkner Simen Prang, Blindheim Jørgen, Molteberg Dag, Steinert Martin, Chinga-Carrasco Gary
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Richard Birkelandsvei 2B, 7491 Trondheim, Norway.
Norske Skog Saugbrugs, Tistedalsgt. 9-11, 1772 Halden, Norway.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2023 Sep 7;13(18):2511. doi: 10.3390/nano13182511.
Due to environmental concerns regarding single-use plastic materials, major efforts are being made to develop new material concepts based on biodegradable and renewable resources, e.g., wood pulp. In this study, we assessed two types of wood pulp fibres, i.e., thermomechanical pulp (TMP) and Kraft pulp fibres, and tested the performance of the fibres in wet-moulding and thermopressing trials. Kraft pulp fibres appeared to retain more water than TMP, increasing the dewatering time during wet-moulding and apparently increasing the compression resistance of the pulp during thermoforming. Additionally, cellulose nanofibres (CNF) were added to the pulps, which improved the mechanical properties of the final thermopressed specimens. However, the addition of CNF to the pulps (from 2 to 6%) had a further decrease in the dewatering efficiency in the wet-moulding process, and this effect was more pronounced in the Kraft pulp specimens. The mechanical performance of the thermoformed specimens was in the same range as the plastic materials that are conventionally used in food packaging, i.e., modulus 0.6-1.2 GPa, strength 49 MPa and elongation 6-9%. Finally, this study demonstrates the potential of wood pulps to form three-dimensional thermoformed products.
由于对一次性塑料材料的环境问题的关注，人们正在大力开发基于可生物降解和可再生资源（如木浆）的新材料概念。在本研究中，我们评估了两种类型的木浆纤维，即热机械浆（TMP）和硫酸盐浆纤维，并在湿模塑和热压试验中测试了纤维的性能。硫酸盐浆纤维似乎比TMP保留更多的水分，增加了湿模塑过程中的脱水时间，并明显提高了热成型过程中纸浆的抗压强度。此外，将纤维素纳米纤维（CNF）添加到纸浆中，改善了最终热压试样的机械性能。然而，向纸浆中添加CNF（从2%到6%）会进一步降低湿模塑过程中的脱水效率，并且这种效果在硫酸盐浆试样中更为明显。热成型试样的机械性能与食品包装中常用的塑料材料处于同一范围内，即模量为0.6-1.2 GPa，强度为49 MPa，伸长率为6-9%。最后，本研究证明了木浆形成三维热成型产品的潜力。
