Introducing the Circular Lignin-Polysaccharide Board (CLIPboard): Advancing Recycling Options for a Sustainable Circular Economy in the Wood Industry
摘要
Particleboards, medium-density fibreboards or oriented strandboards have become an integral part of the construction sector in the last decades, greatly contributing to the current transition towards a more bio-based circular economy. However, accumulation of synthetic adhesives and down-sizing of wood particles upon repeated disintegration and re-processing are aspects impeding circularity and avoidance of end-of-life waste. Here, we report a fully bio-based approach for production of Circular Lignin-Polysaccharide Boards (CLIPboards), which circumvents these disadvantages by using a waterborne bio-adhesive that facilitates steam-aided disintegration by gentle shear force. These novel CLIPboards were made by hot-pressing of mixtures consisting of a bio-based adhesive (5 wt.% sodium lignosulfonate, 5 wt.% corn starch), and bio-filler wood particles (90 wt.%, spruce). At 30 wt.% moisture content, maximum values of internal bonding strength (IB, 0.36 N/mm2), modulus of elasticity (MOE, 2618 N/mm2) and modulus of rupture (MOR, 8.36 N/mm2) were obtained, confirming the key role of moisture in biopolymer bonding. Targeting future additive manufacturing of entirely biobased walls, which can be disintegrated and reshaped on demand without the necessity of adding new adhesive, two hot steam treatment approaches were tested, slightly differing in severity of concomitantly applied mechanical shear-force. The feasibility of closed-loop reuse by application of steam pre-treatment and gentle shear disintegration was investigated for three shaping cycles. Even though discolouration and lower mechanical performance had to be accepted after two cycles, there is indication of current work that appropriate measures can be taken to largely overcome these issues in future.