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BR-112022006941-B1 - PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING A LIGNOCELLULOSIC FIBER-BASED COMPOSITE MATERIAL AND THE COMPOSITE MATERIAL OBTAINED BY SUCH A PROCESS

BR112022006941B1BR 112022006941 B1BR112022006941 B1BR 112022006941B1BR-112022006941-B1

Abstract

PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING A LIGNOCELLULOSIC FIBER-BASED COMPOSITE MATERIAL AND COMPOSITE MATERIAL OBTAINED BY SUCH PROCESS. The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a lignocellulosic fiber-based composite material comprising the steps of: - obtaining a fibrous mixture (S1) comprising a defibrated lignocellulosic material and defibrated plant seeds; - blending the fibrous mixture with a resin (S2) to form a composite mixture; and - curing (S3) the composite mixture, thus forming the lignocellulosic fiber-based composite material. A preferred application of this process is the manufacture of fiberboard, such as MDF.

Inventors

  • Xavier LE FUR
  • Carine MANGEON PASTORI

Assignees

  • EVERTREE

Dates

Publication Date
20260310
Application Date
20201009
Priority Date
20191011

Claims (18)

  1. 1. Process for manufacturing a lignocellulosic fiber-based composite material characterized by comprising the steps of: • obtaining a fibrous mixture (S1) comprising a defibrated lignocellulosic material and defibrated plant seeds; • blending the fibrous mixture with a resin (S2) to form a composite mixture; and • curing (S3) the composite mixture, thus forming the lignocellulosic fiber-based composite material.
  2. 2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that the step of obtaining a fibrous mixture (S1) comprises: • providing a lignocellulosic material and providing plant seeds (S11); • mixing (S15) the lignocellulosic material and the plant seeds, thus obtaining a mixture of lignocellulosic material and plant seeds; and • defibrating (S16) the mixture of lignocellulosic material and plant seeds.
  3. 3. Process according to claim 2, characterized in that the defibration step (S16) of the mixture of lignocellulosic material and plant seeds comprises a vaporization step (S161, S165) of the mixture of lignocellulosic material and plant seeds prior to defibration by a thermomechanical process or a pressure release-based process.
  4. 4. A process, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the composite mixture comprises: - an amount of defibrated lignocellulosic material ranging from 40% to 99%, and - an amount of defibrated seeds ranging from 1% to 60% by weight of the total dry matter of the composite mixture, and an amount of resin ranging from 0.1% to 20% by weight of the total dry matter of the composite mixture.
  5. 5. Process, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the curing step of the composite mixture (S3) comprises the steps of: - drying (S31) the resin-bonded fibrous mixture to a moisture content between 0% and 20%, forming (S32) the dry resin-bonded fibrous mixture on a conveyor belt, - pressing (S33) the conveyor belt to obtain the lignocellulosic fiber-based composite material.
  6. 6. Process for manufacturing a fiberboard, comprising a process as defined in any of the preceding claims, characterized by further comprising the steps of cooling (S34) and sawing (S35) of the lignocellulosic fiber-based composite material, thereby forming fiberboards.
  7. 7. A process, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by comprising a step of adding an amine compound to the resin or fibrous mixture, wherein the added amine compound represents from 0% to 25% by weight of the total dry matter of the composite mixture.
  8. 8. Process according to claim 7, characterized in that the amine compound is one of urea, methylurea, polyurea, polyvinylamine, melamine, polyethyleneimine (PEI), diethanediamine, ethanoldiamine, ethanolamine, diethanolamine and hexamine.
  9. 9. A process, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by comprising a step of adding an additive to the resin or fibrous mixture, the additive being at least one of: a wax, a metallic salt, a vegetable oil, a fatty acid, a silicone, a pH modifier, a polyol, a tannin, a lignin, an amino acid, a metallic oxide, starch, a dyeing agent, a flame retardant, the additives representing from 0% to 20% by weight of the total dry matter of the composite mixture.
  10. 10. A process, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lignocellulosic material is wood, corn straw, coconut husk, cotton stalk, flax, grass, hemp, kenaf, wheat straw, bagasse, palm trunks, bamboo, or a mixture of two or more thereof.
  11. 11. A process, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plant seeds are provided, before being defibrated, in the form of a coarse seed flour.
  12. 12. A process, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plant seeds are provided, before being defibrated, in the form of seed flour.
  13. 13. A process, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fibrous mixture comprises at least 40% w/w of dry matter fiber.
  14. 14. A process, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plant seeds are plant seeds belonging to one or more of the following families: - Arecaceae, - Asteraceae, - Brassicaceae, - Cannabaceae, - Fabaceae, - Linaceae, - Malvaceae, and - Poaceae.
  15. 15. A process, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the resin is selected from: - a polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrin (PAE) resin, a polyalkylenepolyamine-epichlorohydrin resin, an itaconic acid-based polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrin resin and/or an amine-epichlorohydrin polymer resin, - an epoxy resin, - an isocyanate resin, - a urea-formaldehyde resin, a melamine-formaldehyde resin, a melamine-urea-formaldehyde resin, a phenol-formaldehyde resin, a resorcinol-formaldehyde resin, other formaldehyde-based resins or resins based on other aldehydes, - a polyurethane-based resin, - a polyacid-based resin, - an acrylate-based or methacrylate-based resin, - ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), ethylene-co-vinyl acetate-co- acrylic acid, ethylene-co-vinyl acetate-co-methacrylic acid, ethylene-co-vinyl acetate-co-vinyl alcohol, carboxylated copolymers of ethylene-vinyl acetate, ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate-co-vinyl alcohol.
  16. 16. Fibrous mixture characterized by comprising fibers of lignocellulosic material and defibrated plant seeds, wherein the weight ratio between the lignocellulosic material and the plant seeds is between 40:60 and 99:1.
  17. 17. A lignocellulosic fiber-based composite material characterized by comprising a fibrous mixture as defined in claim 16 and a resin, the fibrous mixture forming a reinforcement and an adhesive for said lignocellulosic fiber-based composite material and the resin, in a cured form, forming or being part of a matrix of said lignocellulosic fiber-based composite material.
  18. 18. Fiberboard panel characterized by being made of a lignocellulosic fiber-based composite material as defined in claim 17.

Description

Field of Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a fiber-based composite material. The invention relates more particularly to a process for preparing a fiber-based material comprising fibers bonded together by an adhesive comprising a protein source and a resin. Background of the Invention [0002] In known manufacturing processes that utilize an adhesive that is or comprises a resin, the adhesive portion will change from a liquid to a solid state. The adhesive may harden by loss of water into the air or another portion of the composite, by a phase change, or by some chemical or physicochemical change of the adhesive. [0003] Adhesive compositions are used extensively in the wood products industry to make composites such as compacted board, fiberboard, and related wood composite products. Adhesive compositions are also used to make engineered wood composites. Traditionally, these wood composites are made using a urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin or a phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin. More recently, polymeric methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI) has been used to make these composites. UF resin, PF resin, and PMDI are made from petroleum feedstock and may require high-temperature conditions to facilitate curing. For example, heating the resin-wood mixture to temperatures exceeding 100 °C, and often 200 °C, while applying pressure to the mixture in order to form the composite. [0004] Many adhesives in the composites industry, especially where biomaterials are used, are water-based. In this situation, water serves as the primary component to dissolve or disperse the adhesive components. For example, urea-formaldehyde (UF) adhesives are frequently supplied in the form of a solution. [0005] The manufacture of fiberboard, such as medium-density fiberboard (MDF), is one of the main applications of processes for manufacturing a fiber-based composite material. Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and other types of fiberboard, such as high-density fiberboard (HDF), low-density fiberboard (LDF), and ultra-low-density fiberboard (ULDF), are generally obtained from a lignocellulosic material, in particular wood, according to a process that can be summarized as follows. [0006] The first step in the fiberboard (e.g., MDF, FIDF, LDF, or ULDF) process is wood handling, which typically includes debarking, chipping logs, and chip/bark handling systems. In this step, the wood chips are separated from stones and other contaminants. The next step is fiber preparation, which may include processing the wood chips in a chip washer, a steam container, a preheater, and a defibration apparatus, such as a refiner or defibrator. In the steam container, the wood chips are heated by steam to a temperature of around 80-95 °C, and are then conveyed by a plug screw that squeezes the water out of the chips before they enter the preheater. In the preheater, the wood chips are heated to a temperature of around 160°C, which softens the fibers and makes them easier to separate. The softened chips are then conveyed and introduced (usually by means of a screw) into the defibrator, where they are ground into fibers between two metal members (e.g., discs or plates) under a steam pressure of up to 8 bar. The fibers flow with the steam out of the refiner into a so-called blow line, where the wood fibers are resin-coated, i.e., sprayed with a thermosetting resin. The resulting fibers are dried with, for example, one or two cyclone dryers and a Z-Sifter. In the cyclones, the fibers are dried with hot combustion gas or steam to achieve 5%-10% moisture content. The Z-Sifter cleans the fibers of contaminants before the forming stage. During the forming stage, the resin-bonded fibers are formed on a conveyor belt, which enters a cold pre-press before going to a hot press. The final stage is handling, where the fiber sheets are cut to the desired dimensions, cooled, and stacked before delivery. [0007] This process and the industrial equipment that can be used to carry it out are described, for example, in: Wood-Based Panels - An Introduction for Specialists, COST Office, 2010, Published by Brunei University Press, ISBN 978-1-902316-82-6, and by Halvarsson, S., Manufacture of straw MDF and fibreboard, Thesis for the degree of Doctor of technology, Sundsvall, 2010. [0008] In certain known fiber-based materials, wood fibers are replaced by other natural fibers, such as straw fibers (wheat, rice, or corn). For example, document US5663221 discloses the use of sunflower husks to make MDF boards as a replacement for wood fiber reinforcement. According to the process disclosed in this document, the raw material used undergoes steps similar to those used to prepare wood-based MDF. The process according to this document aims to reduce energy consumption for the production of MDF boards compared to the production of wood-based boards. [0009] Document WO00/06650 discloses composite materials obtained from plant materials containing fibers such as