1. Twin-Screw Extrusion Process to Produce Renewable Fiberboards
- Author
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Pierre-Yves Pontalier, Pierre Ouagne, Saif Ullah Khan, Laurent Labonne, Philippe Evon, Antoine Rouilly, Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse - Toulouse INP (FRANCE), Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE (FRANCE), Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences - BUITEMS (PAKISTAN), Laboratoire Génie de Production - LGP (Tarbes, France), Chimie Agro-Industrielle (CAI), Ecole nationale supérieure des ingénieurs en arts chimiques et technologiques-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), University of Balochistan, Laboratoire Génie de Production (LGP), and Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Tarbes
- Subjects
Materials science ,Hot Temperature ,Natural binder ,General Chemical Engineering ,Matériaux ,Plastics extrusion ,Organosolv ,Lignocellulosic biomass ,Biomass ,02 engineering and technology ,Fiberboard ,7. Clean energy ,01 natural sciences ,Lignin ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,[SPI.MAT]Engineering Sciences [physics]/Materials ,0103 physical sciences ,Fiber ,Desiccation ,Refining (metallurgy) ,010302 applied physics ,Twin-screw extrusion ,General Immunology and Microbiology ,General Neuroscience ,Water ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Pulp and paper industry ,Wood ,Hot pressing ,Extrusion-refining ,Absorption, Physicochemical ,visual_art ,8. Economic growth ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,Extrusion ,0210 nano-technology ,Biotechnology - Abstract
International audience; A versatile twin-screw extrusion process to provide an efficient thermo-mechano-chemical pre-treatment on lignocellulosic biomass before using it as source of mechanical reinforcement in fully bio-based fiberboards was developed. Various lignocellulosic crop by-products have already been successfully pre-treated through this process, e.g., cereal straws (especially rice), coriander straw, shives from oleaginous flax straw, and bark of both amaranth and sunflower stems.The extrusion process results in a marked increase in the average fiber aspect ratio, leading to improved mechanical properties of fiberboards. The twin-screw extruder can also be fitted with a filtration module at the end of the barrel. The continuous extraction of various chemicals (e.g., free sugars, hemicelluloses, volatiles from essential oil fractions, etc.) from the lignocellulosic substrate, and the fiber refining can, therefore, be performed simultaneously.The extruder can also be used for its mixing ability: a natural binder (e.g., Organosolv lignins, protein-based oilcakes, starch, etc.) can be added to the refined fibers at the end of the screw profile. The obtained premix is ready to be molded through hot pressing, with the natural binder contributing to fiberboard cohesion. Such a combined process in a single extruder pass improves the production time, production cost, and may lead to reduction in plant production size. Because all the operations are performed in a single step, fiber morphology is better preserved, thanks to a reduced residence time of the material inside the extruder, resulting in enhanced material performances. Such one-step extrusion operation may be at the origin of a valuable industrial process intensification.Compared to commercial wood-based materials, these fully bio-based fiberboards do not emit any formaldehyde, and they could find various applications, e.g., intermediate containers, furniture, domestic flooring, shelving, general construction, etc.
- Published
- 2021