Buletinul Institutului Politehnic din Iași Secția Chimie și Inginerie Chimică ISSN: 2537-2947
ISSN-L: 0254-7104
2025, Volume 71(75), Issue 1 (January), pp. 61 - 74
Chemical Method of Biomass Delignification as An Advanced Technique for
Preparing Wood Foam with Insulating Properties
LUCIAN PĂUNESCU, Daily Sourcing & Research SRL Bucharest, Romania,
lucianpaunescu16@gmail.com ADRIAN IOANA, National University of Science and Technology
“Politehnica”, Faculty of Science and Materials Engineering Bucharest,
Romania ENIKÖ VOLCEANOV, National University of Science and Technology
“Politehnica”, Faculty of Engineering in Foreign Language Bucharest,
Romania; Metallurgical Research Institute SA Bucharest, Romania
Abstract The paper refers to a method of lignin removing in the
biomass structure to obtain a wooden material with excellent heat-insulating
properties suitable for use as an insulating material in construction. In
principle, the method is almost similar to that applied in the pulp and
paper industry, but with a different technological purpose. The chemical
activation of maple wood waste was obtained through contact with an aqueous
alkaline environment containing NaOH and Ca(OH)2 the effect being
significant reduction of thermal conductivity compared to non-chemically
treated wood. The originality is the use for the first time of maple wood as
recycled sawdust. The process temperature was 90° C for 8 hours. Results were
remarkable, the optimal product having density of 0.21 g·cm-3 and heat
conductivity of 0.029 W·m-1·K-1. In quality terms, the delignified wood
features were almost similar with other foamed wooden products.
Keywords: maple wood, removing lignin, biomass, alkaline environment,
thermal conductivity