Effect of hot-pressing temperature on characteristics of alkali pretreated reed straw bio-board
Liguang Xiao, Yanbo Ding, Gang Yan
Abstract
We investigated (1) the effects of different hot pressing temperatures on the mechanical properties and dimensional stability of the bio-boards using reed straw as a raw material followed by alkali solution pretreatment and (2) the self-gluing ability of reed fibers using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that the mechanical properties and dimensional stability of the bio-board improved significantly with a rise in hot pressing temperature. The sample with hot pressing temperature of 180 °C has the best performance. After the alkali treatment at hot pressing temperature of 180 °C, the cross section of bio-board became more dense and flat. The IR spectra of the bio-boards showed that the reed fibers generated more functional groups (‒C = O, C‒O‒C, C‒O) following alkali treatments at different hot pressing temperatures. The increase in functional groups (‒C = O, C‒O‒C, C‒O) favored self-gluing of the fibers and improved the performance of the bio-board. Our results demonstrate that bio-boards with high mechanical property and self-gluing ability can be prepared using reed straw at different hot pressing temperatures and alkali solution pretreatment. The hot pressing temperature is an important factor affecting the performance of the bio-board.