Xiya Yu¹, Nianfeng Wei², Qisong Liu², Zhiyong Wu², Mizi Fan³, Weigang Zhao^1,*, Qinzhi Zeng^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.8, pp. 2041-2053, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.018027

Abstract To improve the mechanical properties of fast-growing Chinese fir (Cunnighamia lanceolate), expand its range of application, increase its value, and avoid the environmental pollution caused by impregnation with synthetic resin, Chinese fir was impregnated with a shellac solution. Since the shellac solution was difficult to penetrate into fast-growing Chinese fir, so microwave pretreatment was used to irradiate the wood to improve the permeability. This study investigated the effects of four factors, including the content of moisture in the wood before it was microwaved, the chamber pressure of microwave, the time of microwaving and the vacuum impregnation on the mechanical properties… More > Graphic Abstract

Lu Hong¹, Biqing Shu^1,2, Qian He¹, Zehui Ju¹, Haiyang Zhang¹, Xiaoning Lu^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.1, pp. 49-59, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.013833

Abstract Chinese fir was compressed by vacuum hot pressing and conventional hot pressing at different temperatures (180°C, 200°C and 220°C), respectively. The color parameters of the heat-compressed sample were measured, the relative mechanical properties of the material were tested and changes in the chemistry of fir were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Xray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that the color difference between compressed and untreated wood increased gradually with the increase of temperature. Compared with the conventional hot pressing treatment, the color difference (ΔE*) of the Chinese fir treated by vacuum hot pressing decreased by 43.73%,… More >