A liquid flame retardant composition is in the form of an admixture which includes a phosphate-based flame retardant, ammonium hydroxide and zinc borate. The invention extends to a method of providing a phosphate-based liquid flame retardant composition, to the use of a phosphate-based flame retardant, ammonium hydroxide and a zinc borate in the manufacture of a liquid flame retardant composition, to a cellulosic material treated with the liquid flame retardant composition and to a method of inhibiting strength loss in a cellulosic material when the cellulosic material is exposed to heat.

The present invention is directed to a composite material comprising a cellulosic material, high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and styrene maleic anhydride (SMA). The cellulosic material may be thermally modified prior to being incorporated into the composite material. The present invention is also directed to a composite product that comprises the composite material according to the invention.

The invention relates to a process for forming a wood-base product comprising the steps of a) providing particles of wood, b) resinating the particles of wood with a binder, c) compressing the resinated particles of wood to form a wood-base product, wherein before, during or after step b) the particles of wood and/or the binder are brought into contact with a broken dispersion. The invention also relates to the use of a polyfunctional compound as demulsifier for breaking a wax-containing dispersion. The invention further relates to a broken dispersion for hydrophobicizing lignocellulose-containing material. The invention additionally relates to a two-component system containing at least two components A and B: a wax-containing dispersion A) and a demulsifier B) having at least one functional group for breaking the wax-containing dispersion.

An aqueous boric acid/urea dispersion includes insoluble boric acid particles having a median particle size range of less than 44 microns and having a % actives content of boric acid plus urea of 60 wt. % or greater. The boric acid/urea dispersion includes an effective amount of at least one viscosity reducing agent such that the boric acid/urea dispersion has an initial Brookfield 2 rpm viscosity of about 5,000 to about 25,000 centipoise and a three week aged Brookfield 2 rpm viscosity of less than 250,000 centipoise, an optional amount of an alkali metal base, the alkali metal base/boric acid mole ratio in the dispersion ranging up to about 0.01; and the balance water. The boric acid/urea dispersion can be used in the manufacture of engineered wood products like oriented strand board as well as be a part of a waterborne coating formulation to coat wood products to improve fire retardancy.

The current invention concerns a method for producing an aqueous dispersion suitable for being used as a flame retardant additive to wood composite panels. At least one pH-regulator, at least one inorganic thickener, and optionally at least one smoke suppressing agent is added to a premix while maintaining the actuation of wet-milling systems until the dispersion is obtained.

Disclosed is a process for the treatment of wood strands suitable for the manufacture of OSB boards, in which the wood strands are treated with steam without drying after extraction, the steam being passed over the wood strands at a temperature between 80 C. and 120 C. and a pressure between 0.5 bar and 2 bar. Also disclosed is a process for the production of OSB wood-based boards including the steps of a) producing wood strands from suitable wood logs; b) treating at least part of the wood strands with steam; c) drying the steam-treated wood strands; d) gluing the steam-treated and dried wood strands and gluing the non-steam-treated wood strands with at least one binder; e) scattering the glued wood strands onto a conveyor belt; and f) pressing the glued wood strands into an OSB wood-based board.

The invention relates to a process for treating a lignocellulosic material, preferably wood, comprising the following steps: (1) soaking of the material with organic fluid in order to dissolve at least 40% and at most 85%, in weight %, of the lignin of the material; (2) washing with organic fluid so as to discharge the dissolved lignin; (3) filling with a filling compound; and (4) finishing, so as to obtain a composite formed of a three-dimensional network of transformed filling compound incorporated into a cellulose and lignin network. The invention also relates to a composite structure able to be obtained in this way, and to any part comprising at least one such structure.

A process for the production of OSB wood-based panels including: a) producing wood strands from suitable wood logs; b) treating at least part of the wood strands with steam at a temperature between 80 C. and 120 C. and a pressure between 0.5 bar and 2 bar; c) drying the steam-treated wood strands; d) gluing the steam-treated and dried wood strands and, optionally, gluing the non-steam treated wood strands with at least one binder; e) scattering the glued wood strands onto a conveyor belt; and f) pressing the glued wood strands into an OSB wood-based board. The steam treatment takes place after the wood strands have been produced and made available, or after the wood strands have been sifted and separated according to the use of the wood strands for the middle and top layers of the panel. Also, an OSB wood-based panel made using the process.

The present disclosure provides a method for preparing a piezoresistive sensor material, including: preparing a wood fiber aerogel; conducting dopamine self-polymerization on the surface of the aerogel to obtain a wood fiber-based hydrogel; soaking the wood fiber-based hydrogel in a nano conductive phase suspension or a nano conductive phase precursor to form a conductive phase-loaded wood fiber-based hydrogel; subjecting the conductive phase-loaded wood fiber-based hydrogel to reaction with an aqueous solution including a polyelectrolyte monomer, a crosslinker, an initiator and a catalyst to form a conductive phase-wood fiber-based hydrogel composite; and complexing the composite with metal ions. The present disclosure further discloses a piezoresistive sensor including the sensor material, and a preparation method thereof. The sensor material prepared by the method of the present disclosure has excellent mechanical strength and ionic conductivity, and a sensor further prepared has extremely-high sensitivity.

The present disclosure relates, according to some embodiments, to methods and systems for impregnating wood with a polymer solution and products thereof. In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a method of processing a wood piece to generate a wood product, the method comprising: (a) placing the wood piece into a reactor having a chamber pressure of a vacuum environment; (b) exposing the wood piece to a polymer solution; (c) performing an iterative process where each cycle of the iterative process comprises a pressurizing period during which the chamber pressure is increased to an increased chamber pressure and a stabilizing period during which the chamber pressure is monitored to measure a chamber pressure decrease, if any; (d) when the decrease of chamber pressure during the stabilizing period is less than or equal to the certain threshold change, normalizing the reactor chamber to a normalized pressure; and (e) setting the wood piece to generate the wood product. The present disclosure further relates to a wood product generated by a method of processing a wood piece.