Heat-treated wood particles have shown promising results when used in production of wood plastic composites (WPC). Comparing to the ones with untreated wood these WPC are more durable against fungi, stiffer, more water resistant and dimensionally stable. In addition, the composites show slight improvements in flexural strength and surface microhardness, however significant reduction in impact strength (Segerholm 2012; Kuka et al. 2016). It has been previously determined that addition of inorganic fillers can improve some WPC properties (impact strength, dimensional stability, flexural properties, hardness etc.) as well as decrease the price of the product. However, to hold its economic benefits it is important that these fillers are easily available and near to the WPC manufacturer (Klyosov 2007; Huuhilo 2010). Wood ash is underutilized by-product of energy production from wood biomass and is widely available in most sawmills and wood burning power stations (Stevens 2011). According to European Commission (2008), the best waste management option is prevention of the waste followed by re-using and the least desirable option is disposal. Wood ash is a mixture of inorganic substances mainly consisting of CaO, SiO2, K2O, Fe2O3, Al2O3 etc. (Udoeyo 2006; Sanusi 2013). Steven (2011) have concluded that wood ash can be successfully used as an additive in WPC production by limiting the amount up to 10 wt%. In the work, it is also concluded that by adding wood ash the strength and stiffness of WPC can be improved. Similar conclusions regarding the stiffness are reported by Wan et al. (2017), however the strength improvement was noticed only at low (1%) wood ash content and only for bending. Regarding other properties water resistance decreased and thermal properties slightly increased. The incorporation of wood ash in heat-treated wood plastic composites (HTWPC) could improve mechanical properties as well as decrease the overall material cost. The main objective of the present study is to identify the benefits and drawbacks of using wood ash waste as an additive in HTWPC.
Keywords: wood plastic composites, wood ash, heat-treated.
Authors
E. Kuka
D. Cirule
J. Kajaks
I. Andersone
B. Andersons
Login to download the PDF