Influence of Pressure on the Radial and Tangential Penetration of Adhesive Resin into Poplar Wood and on the Shear Strength of Adhesive Joints

Raw and pyrolyzed samples of the plane tree seeds (PTS) were tested by various advanced analytical techniques including simultaneous TG-DSC technique, FTIR analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, Raman spectroscopy analysis, GC–MS (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry) analysis and scanning electron microscope analysis, for its characterization procedure and the pre-treatments in possible application in CCS. Nondestructive analytical method (XRD) showed that raw material is typical for carbon-rich material, where was identified increase in interlayer spacing within graphite structure. The XRD results of pyrolyzed sample at 850 °C showed a sudden loss in interlayer spacing. Spectroscopic analyses of pyrolyzed sample demonstrated the presence of typical aromatic structures found in amorphous carbon. Results indicate the high levels of the growth in basal planes of graphite structure in pyrolyzed sample. It was established that integrated reaction model parameters for pyrolysis of untreated PTS sample realistically describe active temperature period required for charcoal forming, under non-isothermal conditions. It was found that mechanical treatment of material results in increase in the number of chemical compounds. Micrograph showed the presence of variety of shapes and structures, where after pyrolysis, some dissipated pores were detected. One of these pores was partially blocked in some places, depending on the size of surface area. The results showed that the resulting char has very good features for further activation process, while the PTS would represent a good candidate in its application in the CCS.

The impact of urbanization and modern agricultural practice has led to accelerated eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems, which has resulted in the massive development of cyanobacteria. Very often, in response to various environmental influences, cyanobacteria produce potentially carcinogenic cyanotoxins. Long-term human exposure to cyanotoxins, through drinking water as well as recreational water (i.e., rivers or lakes), can cause serious health consequences. In order to overcome this problem, this paper presents the synthesis of completely new activated carbons and their potential application in contaminated water treatment. The synthesis and characterization of new active carbon materials obtained from waste biomass, date-palm leaf stalks (P_AC) and black alder cone-like flowers (A_AC) of reliable physical and chemical characteristics were presented in this article. The commercial activated carbon (C_AC) was also examined for the purpose of comparisons with the obtained materials. The detailed characterization of materials was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), low-temperature N₂ physisorption, and Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Preliminary analyzes of the adsorption capacities of all activated carbon materials were conducted on water samples from Aleksandrovac Lake (Southern part of Serbia), as a eutrophic lake, in order to remove Cyanobacteria from water. The results after 24 h showed removal efficiencies for P_AC, A_AC, and C_AC of 99.99%, 99.99% and 89.79%, respectively.

Particles of beech wood were treated with hot water at the temperature of 150 oC, during 60 min, prior to the pelleting process. The applied hot water pretreatment affected the chemical composition and heating value of particles. Two groups of pellets, designated as PT 10 and PT 20, were produced from treated beech particles, with the moisture content of particles being 10.5 and 20.5 %, respectively. Pellets from nontreated beech particles (PNT) served as controls to assess the hot water pretreatment effects on the pellet properties. Both, the applied pretreatment, and the particle moisture content, affected properties of the obtained pellets. The heating value of PT 10 ad PT 20 pellets has increased for ~6 and 1 %, respectively. The mineral (ash) content in treated pellets decreased for about 24 % in comparison to that in PNT pellets. In addition, the bulk (apparent) density of pellets has increased for 21 % (PT 10) and 10 % (PT 20), as a consequence of the hot water pretreatment of particles. The specific density of PT 10 pellets was for 16 % higher, while the equilibrium moisture content (after conditioning at RH 68 % and 20.1?C) was for about 32 % lower in comparison to the respective properties of PNT pellets.