Iranian Researchers Use Nuts for Building Wood-Plastic Nanocomposites
The term wood-plastic composites generally means compounding of wood flour with thermoplastic polymers such as polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyvinyl chloride.
These materials have the disadvantage of absorbing water if they are used in the façade of buildings, said Farrokh Roya Nikmaram, the project manager.
She further said that water stain around the signs which are installed on buildings’ façade is one of the disadvantages of using wood-plastic composites in construction.
She pointed out that wood base of the wood-plastic composites available in the market is from the waste of trees, therefore wood is needed to prepare them.
“In order to solve these challenges and preserve the environment, we started producing wood-plastic materials based on the waste of nuts such as pistachio, almond, walnut, and hazelnut, as well as a type of polymer and nanomaterial,” Nikmaram explained.
“The materials are being mixed with each other under controlled temperature and speed conditions to obtain the final product,” she noted.
She emphasized that the raw materials of wood-plastic composites produced in the country are available and there is no need to import the materials from abroad.
She went on to say that national standards have been received for the product to be used on the façade of buildings, while it has passed fire tests.
Nikmaram, who is a graduate of the Islamic Azad University in physics-chemistry, also said the fire test on the wood-plastic composite produced by this company has proved that the company’s product is on par with the best wood-plastic brands in the market.
Nikmaram referred to the lightweight as another advantage of the product, saying, “The National Engineering Council has prohibited the use of stone and glass on the facade of buildings.”
“That is while every square meter of wood-plastic composite weighs around 10 kilograms.”
“Stable color is another advantage of the product, which is due to the lack of pigment in our product,” Nikmaram concluded.
4155/g/Mohammad Jafari
