WOOD RESEARCH Volume 61, Number 6, 2016
Alperen Kaymakci, Nadir Ayrilmis, and Huseyin Akkilic

Utilization of tinder fungus as filler in production of HDPe/wood composite

Selected physical and mechanical properties of high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites filled with various mixtures of wood flour and tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius) were investigated. For this aim, different mixtures of tinder fungus flour and wood flour (0/40, 10/30, 20/20, and 30/10, and 40/0) (by weight) were compounded with HDPE with a coupling agent (maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (MAPE) in a twin screw co-rotating extruder. The test specimens were produced by injection moulding machine. The thickness swelling and water absorption of the HDPE/wood composites significantly decreased with increasing content of the tinder fungus flour. The mechanical properties of the composites were negatively affected by increasing amount of tinder fungus flour but there were no significant differences up to 30 wt % tinder fungus content, except for the tensile strength. The optimum physical and mechanical properties for the filled HDPE composites were found to be a 10/30/60/3 formulation of wood flour, tinder fungus, HDPE, and MAPE, respectively.

WOOD RESEARCH Volume 61, Number 6, 2016
Jin Heon Kwon and Nadir Ayrilmis

Short note. effect of hot-pressing parameters on selected properties of flakeboard

Physical and mechanical properties of flakeboards produced from radiata pine flakes under different hot-pressing conditions were investigated in this study. The flakeboard mats were hot-pressed at 2.8 MPa with two different temperatures (170 and 190°C) and three different durations (7, 10, and 15 min). At the 170°C of hot-pressing temperature, the highest bending strength was found in the flakeboards pressed for 7 min while the highest modulus of elasticity was found in the flakeboards pressed for 15 min. The highest internal bond strength was found to be 0.13 MPa for the flakeboards pressed at 190°C for 15 min. The thickness swelling and water absorption of flakeboards pressed at 190°C were lower than those of the flakeboards pressed at 170°C. The control of hot press temperature and duration appears an effective method to enhance serviceability of flakeboard.

WOOD RESEARCH Volume 63, Number 1, 2018
Nadir Ayrilmis, Ali Gürel, Mehmet Özdemir, and Tolga Kapti

Bond performance of formaldehyde-based resins synthesized with condensate generated during kiln-drying step of wood

This research investigated the potential use of condensate generated during vacuum drying with high frequency of wood in the synthesis of urea-formaldehde (UF) and melamineformaldehyde (MUF) resins. The liquid condensate (5 wt%) of total resin composition) of walnut, beech or oak was replaced with deionized water used in the synthesis of UF and MUF resins. The condensate did not affect the properties of the UF and MUF resins in terms of density, solid content, viscosity, pH, and gel time as compared with the control resins. The control UF and MUF resins did not show a significant difference with the bond strength of UF and MUF resins at dry and wet conditions, except for the oak-UF resin. As for the dry condition, the control resin had the highest bond strength with a value of 12.9 N. mm-2, followed by beech-UF resin (12.6 N. mm-2), walnut-UF resin (12.1 N. mm-2), and oak-UF resin (11.8 N. mm-2), respectively. A similar trend was observed for the wet condition. All the modified UF and MUF resins complied with the minimum requirements of EN 12765 standard at dry and wet conditions. The results of this research can be useful for environmentally friend solution of the waste condensate discarded to the ground water.