Since the 21st century, the development and utilization of biomass materials have gradually gained importance worldwide. The shortage of forest resources in China has necessitated the expansion of horizons to include crop residues, bamboo and wild plant stalks. Biomass broadly refers to natural polymers that are naturally degradable when produced and used from renewable resources generated by carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Its main chemical composition, like wood, is a natural organic composite composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. According to the type of substrate can be divided into: laminated composite material, mixed composite material, penetration generation composite material. According to the reinforced toughness attributes can be divided into: particle reinforced composites, whisker reinforced fibers and fiber reinforced composites. These raw materials, processed and developed through complex physical, chemical and biological technical means, have excellent performance, energy conservation, environmental protection, variety and high added value, and are composite materials characterized by modern new technologies.
Biomass materials have degradable properties
Biomass materials are renewable plant materials containing mainly cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin and their related waste materials that can naturally degrade in nature into harmless organic substances that can be absorbed and utilized by the soil. The production of biodegradable biocomposites and the residues after they become waste products also do not cause secondary pollution. This biomass material is a completely environmentally friendly composite material compared to wood composites produced using synthetic resins, which is in line with the direction of development of modern decorative materials. The waste after its utilization can be harmlessly treated after recycling and can be degraded under certain temperature and humidity conditions.
With the increasing attention to ecological environmental protection and sustainable utilization of resources, the research on degradable biomass composites will continue to deepen. China is rich in raw material resources for biomass materials, which provides a reliable guarantee for the development of biomass materials. And degradable biomass composites also belong to bio-based new materials, which is in line with the medium and long-term environmental protection policy and the future development trend of composite materials. Some first-tier metropolises are now beginning to experiment with the comprehensive utilization of green materials in the field of building decoration, and interior decoration materials in the field of modern buildings and public facilities are the main direction of application. Because of the completely degradable nature of these composite materials, they can be used in a variety of urban development needs that require high levels of environmental protection.
Biomass composites have a large range of applications in the building decoration industry, both indoor and outdoor biomass composites can be applied. Typical biomass materials are mainly based on primary biomass materials such as wood chips, bamboo, wheat straw, peanut shells, cotton stalks and other primary biomass materials as the main raw materials, processed and molded by special techniques to form a kind of reversible recycling, form and structure of a variety of basic materials. These materials not only do not damage the environment, but also protect our forest resources, and are green and harmless, with no release of toxic gases.
The mechanical properties of these composite materials are fully in line with the requirements of architectural decoration materials, and the scope of use is expanding, not only can be used as building template materials, but also as architectural decorative structural materials. In indoor decoration, they can be used as ceiling materials, wall materials and floor materials. Several main features can be summarized as follows: 1. high utilization efficiency, its raw materials to achieve the comprehensive utilization of resources and effective use; 2. wide range of applications, according to the use of different properties and shapes of products; 3. energy saving and environmental protection, wood/plastic substrate, commonly used additives, as well as finished products are safe and environmentally friendly; 4. good economic efficiency, to achieve the transfer of low-value materials to high-value-added products; 5. renewable, its end-of-life products and recycled waste can be 100% reuse. Its end-of-life products and recycling waste can be 100% reuse.
Application of biomass composites in architectural decoration
Biomass-polymer composites are multiphase materials composed of thermosetting or thermoplastic resins as matrix materials and other biomass materials. Commonly used reinforcing fiber materials include biomass fibers, glass fibers, carbon fibers, and high-density polyethylene fibers. With low density, high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, good vibration damping performance, high modulus and low coefficient of thermal expansion, polymer matrix composites are high-performance engineering composites that are widely used in various aspects of industry and construction. Biomass-polymer composites, on the other hand, are a new type of material produced by processing biomass materials and polymer matrices. This polymer-based composite material has a wide range of applications in building decoration, transportation, and environmentally friendly sporting goods.
There are many types of panels processed from biomass-polymer composites and they are the most commonly used materials in building decoration. The main types are laminated composite panels, hybrid composite panels and permeable composite panels. These materials can be used in large quantities in furniture manufacturing and building decoration. These biomass - polymer composites for furniture manufacturing is already a very mature industry, while the application of decorative materials for civil construction will be an important and huge potential market. These materials can be widely recognized in the market as heat insulation and heat preservation, anti-corrosion and decorative effect materials.
The surface of biomass polymer composites can be made of wood grain and other decorative patterns, so that it has a similar visual effect with wooden doors and windows, that is, to meet the people's sensory requirements, but also more durable than wood. In the interior decoration of the floor is often a big project in the decoration, biomass polymer composites do not use any adhesive, as the floor, decorative panels do not produce formaldehyde and other volatile organic pollutants, decorative works can be moved after the end of the project, do not have to worry about indoor air pollution harm to the body. And because of its water-resistant, decay-resistant, friction-resistant properties, can be used for indoor flooring, bathroom flooring and other indoor with high-grade but moderately priced decoration materials, which is the traditional man-made boards can not be compared.
In addition to indoor decoration, biomass polymer materials are also used in large quantities in landscape decoration, with biomass polymer composites made of leisure tables and chairs, flower boxes, tree boxes, fruit boxes, garbage cans, pavilions, and other outdoor products and landscaping, with a very similar to the texture and color of the wood, giving a person a natural and comfortable feeling, in terms of waterproofing, moisture, corrosion, insect, weathering, and so on, is better than the corrosion of wood, some areas of China are commonly used. It is widely used in some areas of China. Biomass polymer composites are used in most of the gardens and roadside chairs in some cities. Its advantages in providing complex structures, diverse shapes and colorful products provide great creative space for landscape design, enabling designers to create more beautiful and chic garden artwork than solid wood materials.
Biomass polymerized materials are also used extensively in interior household products. Before the introduction of biomass-polymer composites, the materials used in furniture had been mainly solid wood and wood-based artificial boards. The efficiency of furniture manufacturing has been improved because large format wood-based panels can be easily and directly fabricated for furniture panels, drawer bottoms, and other parts of traditional solid wood furniture that need to be spliced together. Although wood-based artificial boards are now commonly used in the furniture manufacturing industry, the application of formaldehyde-based glues that cause some pollution to the environment in which they are used has limited its development and is mainly used for the production of low-grade furniture. The emergence of biomass polymer composites, while retaining the texture and beautiful appearance of natural wood with great vitality, overcomes the shortcomings of natural wood exposed in use such as easy deformation, warping, mold and susceptibility to insect and ant infestation, etc., and at the same time, due to the absence of formaldehyde and other volatile organic pollutants, and is therefore more suitable for indoor and outdoor furniture. Biomass-polymer composites can be used to make all kinds of furniture, such as tables, chairs, sofas, beds and cabinets, book shelves, clothes boxes, coffee tables, screens, pot holders, newspaper racks, etc. In addition to these uses, biomass-polymer composites have high specific strength and specific modulus, and their moisture, corrosion and mold resistance are better than wood composites, so they can be used as various indoor and outdoor paving slabs, building templates, flooring, fences, etc.
Biomass inorganic composites are mainly new types of materials that are composites of biomass materials such as wood fibers, bamboo fibers, hemp fibers and crop straws with inorganic materials. Biomass inorganic composites have a long history of application, derived from the natural fibers of plants, such as rice straw, grass and wheat straw, etc., and some developing countries are still using reinforced mortar bricks with rice straw as the fiber material. Due to the cheap price, abundant materials and non-polluting environment of plant fiber, more countries have a strong interest in the research of plant fiber reinforced concrete. In addition, biomass inorganic materials produced by adding fly ash, slag and other materials to biomass inorganic composites have also begun to be applied in large quantities. These materials are mainly used in construction for composites, flat panels, interior and exterior wall panels, and blocks. The main advantages of biomass inorganic composites are lightness, thermal insulation, acoustic absorption, environmental friendliness and low price. Inorganic composites of biomass fibers are used in modern building decoration process for wall panels, partitions, coverings, ceilings, floors, balcony sheathing, sill plates, protective plates for steel supports, ventilation ducts, waste shaft walls, pipe pit sheathing, building components for garden fences and walls, fire-retardant furniture, kitchen equipment, high-temperature house lining panels, bathroom tile bases, and so on.
Cement-based biomass composites are materials that are pressed and molded by mixing plant fibers or shavings and cement, with cement being equivalent to the glue private agent, and fibers and shavings being the filler materials. Due to the low price, abundant materials and simple production process, plant fibers can enhance the performance of cementitious composites, and this material with excellent mechanical properties has been better used. These cement building materials have high strength, do not warp or rot, and are not affected by termite hazards; they can also improve the sound insulation capacity and thermal insulation performance of buildings, and their market potential is huge.
At present, China is actively developing new wall materials, putting the development of energy-saving buildings and the implementation of the protection of arable land, water, environmental protection and other basic national policies on an equal footing, which provides space for the development of biomass inorganic composites.
When biomass inorganic composites are used for interior wall decoration, the installation process is basically the same as that of paper-faced gypsum board. The production and processing of gypsum particle board is basically similar to that of cement particle board, which mainly uses gypsum instead of cement as the internal adhesive private agent. Gypsum material has the advantages of light weight, good flame retardant, small heat transfer coefficient, low price, etc. The main disadvantage is relatively brittle, the production of wood raw materials to make up for its lack of plasticity. Gypsum used in gypsum particle board is generally used for construction gypsum, its main component is calcium sulfate hemihydrate, after absorbing water, it generates calcium sulfate dihydrate, these gypsum intertwined with each other to form a mesh structure, with a certain degree of strength.
Gypsum particle board belongs to the category of green building materials and has a wide market. Wood fiber yarn can also be used instead of shavings, this product is called gypsum wood wool board, its performance and use and gypsum particle board is basically the same.
Application of Biomass Metal Matrix Composites
Biomass metal matrix composites are plates pressed by compositing biomass fibers and shredded materials with metal mesh, metal wires and metal powder etc. in a certain proportion, which have anti-static function. As the precision instrument room, machine room, etc. on dust and static electricity protection requirements are very high, should be used in anti-static flooring. Such as computer equipment room, locker room, operation room, etc.. Wood-metal composite material has good electrical conductivity, and retains the wood temperature, humidity, sound insulation and other properties, at the same time has a high physical and mechanical strength and surface abrasion strength, so the composite material can be used as anti-static flooring. At present, electromagnetic radiation has become the “fourth source of pollution” after the gas, water, noise pollution, is the invisible killer of human health, and wood-metal composites are light in quality, high strength-to-weight ratio, moisturizing, sound insulation and decorative good, and has a high electromagnetic shielding effect. This material is widely used in the construction of national security agencies, embassies and consulates abroad, and some high-level talents' residences and other confidential institutions, etc. It is also used in the renovation of the machine rooms of commercial organizations that keep information confidential, such as banks, insurance companies, and telecommunication companies, etc., in order to prevent the leakage of information.
Basic Characteristics and Development Outlook of Future Biomass Composites
Under the support of new science and technology, the development of biomass decorative materials will be improved and developed in many aspects. Its specific development direction includes several aspects: 1. Biomass carbon composite materials research and application, its main advantages are fire-resistant, anticorrosive mildew, low coefficient of thermal expansion, good vibration resistance and other advantages. For example, research on the physical properties, mechanical properties, special functions of bamboo charcoal and other biomass charcoal shows that bamboo charcoal and other biomass charcoal are environmentally friendly multifunctional materials. This biomass composite material is environmentally friendly and energy-saving, with outstanding mechanical strength, and has a promising future for use in architectural decoration. 2. The development and application of new wood materials and inorganic biomineralized composites, the general wood modification research object is for the wood after felling, in the factory on the wood process, is the wood itself exists in the defects to take after-the-fact remedial measures. But biomineralization is to live standing wood as the object of study, such material modification from the concept is completely new, it is the organization of the structure and different functions of the cells together, constituting a kind of “living” material. Introducing biomineralization into the research field of wood modification is a new wood modification technology that changes the research object from “dead” cells to “living” materials. This is not only efficient but also environmentally friendly, and will certainly promote new developments in traditional wood modification technology. It is a new type of material processing that modifies wood into the type of material needed for building decoration.
Living organisms can find various inorganic substances such as silica, calcium carbonate, etc. from the external environment and direct the crystallization of these substances to form groups of complex structures with different morphologies, such as fibrous structures, interlocking structures, foliated structures, etc., and combine them with polymers generated by themselves to form composites, which is a scientific term used to describe the process of formation of these complex structures as “biomineralization”. The term “biomineralization” is used in science to describe the process of formation of these complex structures. Wood itself can absorb silica, calcium carbonate, calcium oxalate and other inorganic materials from the external environment, and then form a composite material with itself, that is, wood inorganic biomineralized composite materials. The exploration of wood inorganic composites based on the principle of biomineralization has been going on for many years and some results have been achieved, but large-scale applications have not yet begun. Research and development in wood science and technology will focus more on improving the basic properties of wood materials and on giving them new functions. The study of wood inorganic silica composites is based on the study of living standing wood, to which sodium silicate or ethyl orthosilicate vinegar or its siliceous materials are added by certain methods. It precipitates in the cell wall of wood and becomes a kind of wood cell inclusions, and finally forms wood inorganic biomineralized composite material. In order to adapt to the changes in the structure of China's timber resources, we should break through the traditional connotation of timber timber properties research, open up new extensions, promote the technological progress and development of functional improvement of wood in plantation forests, and the future development of biomass composites will be further developed to meet the needs of social development.
