This book presents detailed information on the production and properties of carbon fibers derived from lignin precursors. Focusing on future directions in the carbon fiber industry, it also introduces a novel process for obtaining high-purity lignin, a key aspect in the manufacture of high-quality carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is currently the most preferred lightweight manufacturing material and is rapidly becoming the material of choice for manufacturers around the world. Although more than 80% of commercial carbon fiber is estimated to use PAN (polyacrylonitrile) as a precursor, carbon fiber manufactured from PAN is expensive and therefore its application is limited to high-performance structural materials. Lignin is the second most abundant biopolymer in nature after cellulose and offers a carbon-rich, renewable resource. As a byproduct of the pulp and paper industry and the production of cellulosic ethanol, lignin is also available at low cost, making it an economically attractive alternative to PAN for the production of carbon fibers, as highlighted in this book. The information presented will be of interest to all those involved in the investigation of carbon fiber materials, carbon fiber manufacturers and carbon fiber users.

This book covers the different aspects of tropical natural fibre composites in areas such as properties, design and analysis, manufacturing techniques, material selection of kenaf, oil palm, sugar palm, pineapple leaf, coconut, sugarcane and banana based fibre composites. Important properties such as mechanical and thermal of natural fibres as well their composites are presented. A study on the composite fibre-matrix interface is highlighted together with the design process and analysis of products from natural fibre composites. An overview on the manufacturing techniques (conventionally used to produce fibre glass fibre composites) such as pultrusion and filament winding is described to produce natural fibre composites. The importance of material selection system to obtain the most optimum materials for application in engineering components from natural fibre composites is covered with a strong focus on the concurrent engineering for natural fibre composites.

The application of ionic liquids to biomass for producing biofuels and chemicals will be one of the hot research areas during the next decade due to the fascinating properties of these versatile group of solvents that allow them to dissolve lignocellulosic materials. The present text provides up-to-date fundamentals, state-of-the-art reviews, current assessments and prospects in this area, including aspects of pretreatment, fermentation, biomass dissolution, cellulose transformation, reaction kinetics and physical properties, as well as the subsequent production of biofuels and platform chemicals such as sugars, aldehydes and acids. Auxiliary methods such as catalysis, microwave and enzymatic techniques used in the transformations are covered. Both researchers and practitioners are certain to find a wealth of information in the individual chapters, which were written by experts in the field to provide an essential basis for assessing possible pretreatment and transformation routes of biomass using ionic liquids, and for developing new methods and chemical processes. Dr. Zhen Fang is Professor of Bioenergy, head of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Biomass Group, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden and is also an Adjunct Professor of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China. Dr. Richard L Smith, Jr. is Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Research Center of Supercritical Fluid Technology, Tohoku University, Japan. Dr. Xinhua Qi is Professor of Environmental Science at Nankai University, China.

Agricultural biomass is abundant worldwide and it can be considered as alternative source of renewable and sustainable materials which can be used as potential materials for different applications. Despite this enormous production of agricultural biomass, only a small fraction of the total biomass is utilized for different applications. Industry must be prepared to take advantage of the situation and utilize the available biomass in the best possible manner. Agricultural biomass such as natural fibres has been successfully investigated as a great potential to be used as a renewable and sustainable materials for the production of composite materials. Natural fibres offer excellent specific properties and have potential as outstanding reinforcing fillers in the matrix and can be used as an alternative material for biocomposites, hybrid composites, pulp, and paper industries. Natural fibre based polymer composites made of jute, oil palm, flex, hemp, kenaf have a low market cost, attractive with respect to global sustainability and find increasing commercial use in different applications. Agricultural biomass based composites find applications in a number of fields viz., automotive industry and construction industry. Future research on agricultural biomass-natural fibre based composites should not only be limited to its automotive applications but can be explored for its application in aircraft components, construction industry, rural housing and biomedical applications. In this book we will cover the chemical, physical, thermal, electrical, and biodegradability properties of agricultural biomass based composite materials and its different potential applications. The main goal of this volume is to familiarize researchers, scientists and engineers with the unique research opportunities and potentials of agricultural biomass based materials. Up-to-date information on alternative biomass utilization Academic and industry leaders discuss unique properties of biomass based composite materials Direct application of agricultural biomass materials as sustainable and renewable alternatives

This volume describes fire behavior and fire protection of timbers in outdoors and indoors application mainly in construction industry. The Authors' novel approach considers the relationship between various species and age of timbers and its fire behavior at different thermal and fire loads. Quantitative data of ignition speed and flame propagation as well as generation of heat, smoke and toxic products are discussed. Analysis of fire resistance of various types of building materials based on timber of different species as well as the novel data on the effect of natural and accelerated aging of timbers on its fire behavior are discussed. The main practical methods of fire protection of new and ancient timber buildings and structures to increase its fire resistance are considered. The book should be useful for a wide range of readers: chemists, physicists, material scientists, architects, engineers, constructors and restorers.

This work, published in two volumes, contains descriptions of the wood and bark anatomies of 3000 dicotyledonous plants of 120 families, highlighting the anatomical and phylogenetic diversity of dicotyledonous plants of the Northern Hemisphere. The first volume principally treats families of the Early Angiosperms, Eudicots, Core Eudicots and Rosids, while the second concentrates on the Asterids. Presented in Volume 1 are microsections of the xylem and phloem of herbs, shrubs and trees of 1200 species and 85 families of various life forms of the temperate zone along altitudinal gradients from the lowland at the Mediterranean coast to the alpine zone in Western Europe. The global perspective of the findings is underlined by the analysis of 500 species from the Caucasus, the Rocky Mountains and Andes, the subtropical zone on the Canary Islands, the arid zones in the Sahara, in Eurasia, Arabia and Southwest North America, and the boreal and arctic zones in Eurasia and Canada. The presence of annual rings in all life forms demonstrates that herbs and dwarf shrubs are an excellent tool for the reconstruction of annual biomass production and the interannual dynamic of plant associations. The common principle of the anatomical expression of secondary growth is a key factor in understanding evolution and adaptation processes in all life forms, from the 2 cm tall whitlow grass (Draba arctica) in the arctic to the 40 m tall beech (Fagus sylvatica) in Central European managed forests. The study opens vast fields of research for dendrochronology, wood anatomy, taxonomy and ecology.

The book provides fundamental chemistry and properties of near-critical water (NCW) and supercritical water (SCW), criteria and challenges/solutions in reactor design for NCW and SCW processes, and up-to-date reviews and practice of a wide range of their applications in bio refineries including: production of hydrochars from biomass, SCW oxidation (SCWO) for waste treatment, SCW gasification (SCWG) of biomass and waste for hydrogen and methane production, hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass, production of chemicals and SCWO of biofuels for energy. It also presents techno-economic analysis of hydrogen production via SCWG of biomass. The book will be highly essential for both academic researchers and industrial practitioners for developing novel bio refinery technologies and processes employing NCW or SCW for treatment of various organic waste streams and production of bio-energy and bio-based chemicals from bio-renewable resources. Prof. Dr. Zhen Fang is leader and founder of biomass group, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. Dr. Chunbao (Charles) Xu is currently an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and NSERC/FP Innovations Industrial Research Chair in Forest Bio refinery at Western University, Canada.

This unique book provides the first comprehensive overview of wood based bioenergy in the northern hardwood forests of the Eastern United States. This includes a holistic look at the topic of wood based bioenergy, as well as focused analyses of key topics. This book is relevant to engineers, project developers, foresters, economists, sociologists, environmental scientists and natural resource managers. Most chapters also provide practical hands-on advice for the practitioner, and provide a valuable resource for anyone who is considering developing a woody bioenergy project.

This book describes the scientific principles that are used throughout the world to ensure the rapid, healthy growth of forest plantations. As the population of the world increases so does the amount of wood people use. Large areas of natural forests are being cleared every year and converted to other uses. Almost as large an area of plantation forests is being established annually to replace those lost natural forests. Eventually, plantations will produce a large proportion of the wood used around the world for firewood, building, the manufacture of paper and bioenergy. Forest plantations can also provide various environmental benefits including carbon storage, rehabilitation of degraded land, serving as disposal sites for various forms of industrial or agricultural waste and enhancing biodiversity in regions that have been largely cleared for agriculture. Whatever their motivation, plantation forest growers want their plantations to be healthy and grow rapidly to achieve their purpose as soon as possible. This book discusses how this is done. It is written for a worldwide audience, from forestry professionals and scientists through to small plantation growers, and describes how plantations may be grown responsibly and profitably.

The book is a fundamental reference source on reaction wood for wood scientists and technologists, plant biologists, silviculturists, forest ecologists, and anyone involved in the growing of trees and the processing of wood. It brings together our current understanding of all aspects of reaction wood, and is the first book to discuss both compression wood and tension wood. Trees produce reaction wood to maintain the vertical orientation of their stems and the optimum angle of each branch. They achieve this by laying down fibre cell walls in which differences in physical and chemical structure from those of normal fibres are expressed as differential stresses across the stem or branch. This process, while of obvious value for the survival of the tree, causes serious problems for the utilisation of timber. Timber derived from trees containing significant amounts of reaction wood is subject to dimensional instability on drying, causing twisting, bending and splitting. It is also difficult to work as timber, and for the pulp and paper industry the cost of removing the increased amount of lignin in compression wood is substantial. This has both practical and economic consequences for industry. Understanding the factors controlling reaction wood formation and its effect on wood structure is therefore fundamental to our understanding of the adaptation of trees to their environment and to the sustainable use of wood. The topics covered include: -Morphology, anatomy and ultrastructure of reaction wood -Cell-wall polymers in reaction wood and their biosynthesis -Changes in tree proteomes during reaction wood formation -The biomechanical action and biological functions of reaction wood - Physical and mechanical properties of reaction wood from the scale of cell walls to planks -The detection and characterisation of compression wood -Effects of reaction wood on the performance of wood and wood-based products - Commercial implications of reaction wood and the influence of forest management on its formation

This four volume set covers the entire spectrum of pulp and paper chemistry and technology from starting material to processes and products including market demands. This work is essential for all students of wood science and a useful reference for those working in the pulp and paper industry or on the chemistry of renewable resources. Volume 1 provides a survey of the biological and chemical structure of wood as well as an introduction to the chemical reactions used during pulp production processes. The work presents the different raw materials used for pulp production, the macroscopic and morphological construction of wood and related characterization methods, the chemical structure and arrangement of the wood polymers and extractives, biosynthesis of wood polymers, carbohydrate and lignin analysis, reactions of wood polymers in mechanical and chemical pulping and bleaching processes, biotechnical processes of relevance for the pulp and paper industry, different types of microorganisms and their modes of interaction with wood, the impact of chemical and microbiological processes on the hierarchical structure of wood and pulp.

This book covers the different aspects of tropical natural fibre composites in areas such as properties, design and analysis, manufacturing techniques, material selection of kenaf, oil palm, sugar palm, pineapple leaf, coconut, sugarcane and banana based fibre composites. Important properties such as mechanical and thermal of natural fibres as well their composites are presented. A study on the composite fibre-matrix interface is highlighted together with the design process and analysis of products from natural fibre composites. An overview on the manufacturing techniques (conventionally used to produce fibre glass fibre composites) such as pultrusion and filament winding is described to produce natural fibre composites. The importance of material selection system to obtain the most optimum materials for application in engineering components from natural fibre composites is covered with a strong focus on the concurrent engineering for natural fibre composites.

With today's ever growing economic and ecological problems, wood as a raw material takes on increasing significance as the most important renewable source of energy and as industrial feedstock for numerous products. Its chemical and anatomical structure and the excellent properties that result allow wood to be processed into the most diverse products; from logs to furniture and veneers, and from wood chippings to wooden composites and paper. The aim of this book is to review advances in research on the cellular aspects of cambial growth and wood formation in trees over recent decades. The book is divided into two major parts. The first part covers the basic process of wood biosynthesis, focusing on five major steps that are involved in this process: cell division, cell expansion, secondary cell wall formation, programmed cell death and heartwood formation. The second part of the book deals with the regulation of wood formation by endogenous and exogenous factors. On the endogenous level the emphasis is placed on two aspects: control of wood formation by phytohormones and by molecular mechanisms. Apart from endogenous factors, various exogenous effects (such as climate factors) are involved in wood formation. Due to modern microscopic as well as molecular techniques, the understanding of wood formation has progressed significantly over the last decade. Emphasizing the cellular aspects, this book first gives an overview of the basic process of wood formation, before it focuses on factors involved in the regulation of this process.

In the last quarter century, delamination has come to mean more than just a failure in adhesion between layers of bonded composite plies that might affect their load-bearing capacity. Ever-increasing computer power has meant that we can now detect and analyze delamination between, for example, cell walls in solid wood. This fast-moving and critically important field of study is covered in a book that provides everyone from manufacturers to research scientists the state of the art in wood delamination studies. Divided into three sections, the book first details the general aspects of the subject, from basic information including terminology, to the theoretical basis for the evaluation of delamination. A settled terminology in this subject area is a first key goal of the book, as the terms which describe delamination in wood and wood-based composites are numerous and often confusing. The second section examines different and highly specialized methods for delamination detection such as confocal laser scanning microscopy, light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and ultrasonics. Ways in which NDE (non-destructive evaluation) can be employed to detect and locate defects are also covered. The book's final section focuses on the practical aspects of this defect in a wide range of wood products covering the spectrum from trees, logs, laminated panels and glued laminated timbers to parquet floors. Intended as a primary reference, this book covers everything from the microscopic, anatomical level of delamination within solid wood sections to an examination of the interface of wood and its surface coatings. It provides readers with the perspective of industry as well as laboratory and is thus a highly practical sourcebook for wood engineers working in manufacturing as well as a comprehensively referenced text for materials scientists wrestling with the theory underlying the subject.

"Forests in Development: A Vital Balance," shows some of the main advances in forestry over the six years spanning between the XII World Forestry Congress in Canada and the XIII WFC held in Buenos Aires. The book covers most of the themes of the XIII WFC, from biodiversity through production, policies, environmental services, and economic aspects, linked by sustainability. It provides a comprehensive view of forestry today, conveying its different aspects through one solid piece addressed by authors whose work denotes a concept of sustainable forest management which is not so much a puzzle laboriously put together as a many-faced unity, steered to achieve ultimately a better quality of living for present and future generations.

Millions of trees live and grow all around us, and we all recognize the vital role they play in the world's ecosystems. Publicity campaigns exhort us to plant yet more. Yet until recently comparatively little was known about the root causes of the physical changes that attend their growth. Since trees typically increase in size by three to four orders of magnitude in their journey to maturity, this gap in our knowledge has been a crucial issue to address. Here at last is a synthesis of the current state of our knowledge about both the causes and consequences of ontogenetic changes in key features of tree structure and function. During their ontogeny, trees undergo numerous changes in their physiological function, the structure and mechanical properties of their wood, and overall architecture and allometry. This book examines the central interplay between these changes and tree size and age. It also explores the impact these changes can have, at the level of the individual tree, on the emerging characteristics of forest ecosystems at various stages of their development. The analysis offers an explanation for the importance of discriminating between the varied physical properties arising from the nexus of size and age, as well as highlighting the implications these ontogenetic changes have for commercial forestry and climate change. This important and timely summation of our knowledge base in this area, written by highly respected researchers, will be of huge interest, not only to researchers, but also to forest managers and silviculturists.

Wood-plastic composite (WPC) is a non-recyclable composite material lumber or timber made of recycled plastic and wood wastes which has become one of the most dynamic sectors of the plastics industry in this decade. It is used in numerous applications, such as, outdoor deck floors, railings, fences, landscaping timbers, park benches, window and door frames. This book starts with a brief glimpse at the basic structures and properties of WPCs. Aspects such as surface treatment, machinery used and testing types of WPCs are also covered. The following chapters of the book give a view of foam technology, flame retardant properties and colour retardant properties of WPCs. The way morphology affects or controls the physical and mechanical behaviours of the finished materials is discussed. Finally, the authors give an overview of the applications of wood-plastic composites in daily life. The book may serve as a source book for scientists wishing to work in this field.

The prime purpose of this book is to serve as a design is of considerable value in helping the classroom text for the engineering or architec student make the transition from the often sim ture student. It will, however, also be useful to plistic classroom exercises to problems of the designers who are already familiar with design real world. Problems for solution by the student in other materials (steel, concrete, masonry) but follow the same idea. The first problems in each need to strengthen, refresh, or update their capa subject are the usual textbook-type problems, bility to do structural design in wood. Design but in most chapters these are followed by prob principles for various structural materials are lems requiring the student to make structural similar, but there are significant differences. planning decisions as well. The student may be This book shows what they are. required, given a load source, to find the magni The book has features that the authors believe tude of the applied loads and decide upon a set it apart from other books on wood structural grade of wood. Given a floor plan, the student design. One of these is an abundance of solved may be required to determine a layout of struc examples. Another is its treatment of loads. This tural members. The authors have used most of book will show how actual member loads are the problems in their classes, so the problems computed. The authors have found that students, have been tested."

This Volume contains the papers presented by twenty-eight invited speakers at the symposium entitled, "Genetic Manipulation of Woody Plants," held at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, from June 21-25, 1987. Also included are abstracts of contributed poster papers presented during the meeting. That the molecular biology of woody plants is a rapidly expanding field is attested to by the large attendance and high level of enthusiasm generated at the conference. Leading scientists from throughout the world discussed challenging problems and presented new insights into the devel opment of in vitro culture systems, techniques for DNA analysis and manipulation, gene vector systems, and experimental systems that will lead to a clearer understanding of gene expression and regulation for woody plant species. The presence at the conference of both invited speakers and other scientists who work with nonwoody plant species also added depth to the discussions and applicability of the information presented at the conference. The editors want to commend the speakers for their well-organized and informative talks, and feel particularly indebted to the late Dr. Alexander Hollaender and others on the planning committee who assist ed in the selection of the invited speakers. The committee consisted of David Burger (University of California, Davis), Don J. Durzan (University of California, Davis) , Bruce Haissig (U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service), Stanley Krugman (U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service) , Ralph Mott (North Carolina State University), Otto Schwarz (Univer.sity of Tennessee, Knoxville), and Roger Timmis (Weyerhaeuser Company).

The first edition of this book was the first to provide an integrated description of sap ascension from an anatomical and functional point of view. The second edition opens with the three-dimensional aspects of wood anatomy. The cohesion-tension theory and new evidence are introduced in response to recent controversies over the mechanism of sap ascent in plants. The physiology, anatomy and biophysics of xylem dysfunction are discussed and new insights into hydraulic architecture are reviewed with special emphasis on physiological limits on maximum transpiration and how hydraulic architecture limits gas exchange, carbon gain and growth of plants. The text concludes with a description of xylem failure and pathology. The book highlights fascinating areas of current research with the aim to stimulate more work in the future.

This collection of comprehensive reviews describes the present knowledge of the enzyme mechanisms involved in the biodegradation of wood and wood components, cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin by both fungi and bacteria. The extensive knowledge, presented in this volume, was developed in laboratories world-wide over the last few decades and constitutes the foundation for present and future biotechnology in the pulp and paper industry.

As in other scientific fields, the importance of boundary areas in wood research, such as that between lignin chemistry and hemicellulose chemis- try, continues to increase. Although the utilization of individual wood components has advanced to an appreciable extent, research into oligo- merie or polymerie compounds of two or more different components has made little progress. By contrast, in other fields, glycoproteins and pro te- oglycans have been found to form biochemical active centers in enzymes and microbes. The association between lignin and carbohydrates in lignified plants was first recognized in 1866. However, research has advanced slowly because of difficulty in the isolation and determination of wood glycocon- jugates, whieh likely have an important influence on the formation of wood, pulping behavior, pulp quality and digestibility by ruminants. Most plants contain both hydrophilie polysaccharides and hydrophobie lignins in their tissues. Lignins have been recognized to not only give mechanieal strength or rigidity to a tree or wood, but also to prevent invasion by fungi, and provide cell wall material, especially in the tracheids and vessels that deliver water extracted from the soil to the top of woody plants. How- ever, in trees, lignins have been found to interact with the polysaccharides, partieularly hemicelluloses, with whieh they coexist, leading to the forma- tion of another chemical component, a kind of glycoconjugate. Therefore, it is necessary to inc1ude lignin or p-hydroxycinnamie acids in any discus- sion on wood hemieelluloses.

What is the future of genetically modified (or transgenic) conifer plantations? The content of this edited volume Landscapes, Genomics and Transgenic Conifers addresses this question directly - and indirectly - using language drawn from policy, forest history, genomics, metabolism, pollen dispersal and gene flow, landscape ecology, evolution, economics, technology transfer and regulatory oversight. Although the book takes its title from a Nicholas School Leadership forum held November 17-19, 2004 at Duke University, its de novo contents move past the forum s deliberations. The result is a trans-disciplinary book composed of 14 chapters written by a total of 31 authors working in North America, South America, Europe and Africa.

The book is written for policy experts, life scientists, government and business leaders, biotechnology writers and activists. Few decision-makers realize the unprecedented degree to which transgenic technology is now possible for forests on a commercial scale. Only a handful of the 550 living conifer species is used for commodity value and even fewer species are being developed for transgenic plantations. Transgenic field trials started within the last decade but no transgenic pine plantations exist in 2005. But emergence of transgenic forest trees is still so recent that dialogue about the pros and cons is confined to the scientific community. And dialogue must move out into the public domain.

So little opportunity remains for opening public dialogue. The pursuit of transgenic research for forest trees is principally corporate so novel forest tree phenotypes are created as a means to increase shareholder value for investor companies. And while potential benefits will accrue to shareholders, ecological risks for certain transgenic traits are likely to be shared due to long-distance gene flow and inadequate bioconfinement measures. So this is a question riddled with tension. Without public deliberation, we should expect alienation of several interest groups. Alienation will lead to heightened clashes in the public policy arena or even radical environmental action. But how to move dialogue on transgenic forests forward? One must re-frame the issues behind transgenic conifer plantations.

The goal of this volume is to provide content for public deliberations about the genetic composition of future forests. Its Section I is composed of provocative and opposing views on the question of transgenic conifer plantations. Sections II and III follow with research advances on relevant conifer genomics and ecology research, respectively. Section IV forecasts rates of technology adoption for different case studies. Finally, Section V compares the status of regulatory oversight of transgenic forest trees between Canada and the United States. But will the book fulfil its goal? The burden of the answer lies with its readers. Will readers act or will transgenic forests be seen as too remote or simply too rural to bother with the angst of public deliberation? "

This book brings together information on harvest methods, system productivity, and methods for conducting safe, efficient, and environmentally acceptable operations in tropical forests. It highlights the challenges of harvest operations in the tropics, includes techniques that have been shown to be successful, and discusses newer technologies. Numerical examples are provided to provide clarity for interpreting graphs, procedures, and formulas.

The primary aim of Wood Structure and Environment is to reveal the hidden ecological richness in stems and roots from trees, shrubs and herbs. The detailed, lucid text will inspire researchers to consider the anatomic microcosm of wood plants and use it as a retrospective source of information, solving problems related to ecophysiology, competition, site conditions, population biology, earth science, wood quality and even human history.