| 1. |
- Shroff, Sailee, et al.
(författare)
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Tree Species-Dependent Inactivation of Coronaviruses and Enteroviruses on Solid Wood Surfaces
- 2024
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Ingår i: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1944-8244 .- 1944-8252. ; 16:23, s. 29621-29633
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ongoing challenge of viral transmission, exemplified by the Covid pandemic and recurrent viral outbreaks, necessitates the exploration of sustainable antiviral solutions. This study investigates the underexplored antiviral potential of wooden surfaces. We evaluated the antiviral efficacy of various wood types, including coniferous and deciduous trees, against enveloped coronaviruses and nonenveloped enteroviruses like coxsackie virus A9. Our findings revealed excellent antiviral activity manifesting already within 10 to 15 min in Scots pine and Norway spruce, particularly against enveloped viruses. In contrast, other hardwoods displayed varied efficacy, with oak showing effectiveness against the enterovirus. This antiviral activity was consistently observed across a spectrum of humidity levels (20 to 90 RH%), while the antiviral efficacy manifested itself more rapidly at 37 degrees C vs 21 degrees C. Key to our findings is the chemical composition of these woods. Resin acids and terpenes were prevalent in pine and spruce, correlating with their antiviral performance, while oak's high phenolic content mirrored its efficacy against enterovirus. The pine surface absorbed a higher fraction of the coronavirus in contrast to oak, whereas enteroviruses were not absorbed on those surfaces. Thermal treatment of wood or mixing wood with plastic, such as in wood-plastic composites, strongly compromised the antiviral functionality of wood materials. This study highlights the role of bioactive chemicals in the antiviral action of wood and opens new avenues for employing wood surfaces as a natural and sustainable barrier against viral transmissions.
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| 2. |
- Barbero-López, Aitor, et al.
(författare)
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Analysis of Green Wood Preservation Chemicals
- 2018
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Ingår i: World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology: An International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology. - 2010-376X .- 2070-3740. ; 12:3, s. 175-181
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wood decay is addressed continuously within thewood industry through use and development of wood preservatives.The increasing awareness on the negative effects of many chemicalstowards the environment is causing political restrictions in their useand creating more urgent need for research on green alternatives.This paper discusses some of the possible natural extracts for woodpreserving applications and compares the analytical methodsavailable for testing their behavior and efficiency against decayfungi. The results indicate that natural extracts have interestingchemical constituents that delay fungal growth but vary in efficiencydepending on the chemical concentration and substrate used. Resultsalso suggest that presence and redistribution of preservatives in woodduring exposure trials can be assessed by spectral imaging methodsalthough standardized methods are not available. This studyconcludes that, in addition to the many standard methods available,there is a need to develop new faster methods for screening potentialpreservative formulation while maintaining the comparability andrelevance of results.
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| 3. |
- Barbero-López, A., et al.
(författare)
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Characterization and antifungal properties against wood decaying fungi of hydrothermal liquefaction liquids from spent mushroom substrate and tomato residues
- 2024
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Ingår i: Biomass and Bioenergy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0961-9534 .- 1873-2909. ; 181
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study aimed to investigate the potential of converting bio-based residues from industrial production of mushrooms and tomatoes into more valuable chemicals with antifungal properties using hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). Liquid fractions were obtained from HTL of spent substrate of Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach and Pleurotus ostreatus (jacq.) P. kumm., recomposted Agaricus bisporus spent substrate, and tomato residues. The quantitative 1H NMR spectroscopy analysis revealed that the HTL liquids of all residues contained antifungal constituents like phenols and organic acids. The HTL liquids at dilutions of 10 % were able to inhibit the fungi by over 80 %. Interestingly, the fungus P. ostreatus showed tolerance to these constituents as its growth was promoted at the lowest concentration of all the HTL liquids. The HTL liquids had lower ecotoxicity than the commercial wood preservative. These results suggest that the tested residues could be a promising source of preservative chemical constituents for the wood industry.
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| 4. |
- Hordoir, Robinson, et al.
(författare)
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Nemo-Nordic 1.0 : a NEMO-based ocean model for the Baltic and North seas - research and operational applications
- 2019
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Ingår i: Geoscientific Model Development. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1991-959X .- 1991-9603. ; 12:1, s. 363-386
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present Nemo-Nordic, a Baltic and North Sea model based on the NEMO ocean engine. Surrounded by highly industrialized countries, the Baltic and North seas and their assets associated with shipping, fishing and tourism are vulnerable to anthropogenic pressure and climate change. Ocean models providing reliable forecasts and enabling climatic studies are important tools for the shipping infrastructure and to get a better understanding of the effects of climate change on the marine ecosystems. Nemo-Nordic is intended to be a tool for both short-term and long-term simulations and to be used for ocean forecasting as well as process and climatic studies. Here, the scientific and technical choices within Nemo-Nordic are introduced, and the reasons behind the design of the model and its domain and the inclusion of the two seas are explained. The model's ability to represent barotropic and baroclinic dynamics, as well as the vertical structure of the water column, is presented. Biases are shown and discussed. The short-term capabilities of the model are presented, especially its capabilities to represent sea level on an hourly timescale with a high degree of accuracy. We also show that the model can represent longer timescales, with a focus on the major Baltic inflows and the variability in deep-water salinity in the Baltic Sea.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Hrovat, B., et al.
(författare)
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Preparation of synthetic micro- and nano plastics for method validation studies
- 2024
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 925
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Microplastic (MP) pollution is a persisting global problem. Accurate analysis is essential in quantifying the effects of microplastic pollution and develop novel technologies that reliably and reproducibly measure microplastic content in various samples. The most common methods for this are FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Coloured, standardized beads are often used for method validation tests, which limits the conclusions to a very specific case rarely observed in the natural environment. This study focuses on the preparation of reference micro- and nanoplastics via cryogenic milling and shows their use for FTIR and Raman method validation studies. MPs can now be reproducibly milled from various plastics, offering the advantages of a better representation of MPs in real environment. Moreover, this study highlights issues with the current detection methods, up to now considered as the most reliable ones for MP detection and identification. Such issues, e.g. misidentification, will need to be addressed in the future. Additionally, milled MPs were used in experiments with commercial high-resolution imaging device, enabling a possible in-situ optical detection of microplastics. These experiments represent a step forward in understanding MPs in a water sample and provide a basis for a more accurate detection and identification directly from water, which would considerably reduce the time of analysis.
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| 7. |
- Jiang, Wen, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of Cellulose Nanofibrils on the Bond Strength of Polyvinyl Acetate and Starch Adhesives for Wood
- 2018
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Ingår i: BioResources. - : NC State University. - 1930-2126. ; 13:2, s. 2283-2292
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nanocellulose is a competitive reinforcement material for usein biocomposite structures and fibrous products. In this study, adhesive mixtures of dicarboxylic acid cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) were dispersed into commercial polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) and starch adhesives, whichwere applied to Norway spruce (Picea abies) to assess their performance in wood joining. Single-lap joints were prepared and tested with PVAc mixtures with0 to 0.64 wt% CNFand starch glue mixtures containing 0 to 1.07 wt% CNF. CNF suspensionshaving three concentrations(0.64, 0.96,and 1.28%)were compared. The results showed that the optimum amount of CNF, 0.48% suspensions, added to PVAc increased the average lap joint strength (EN 205:2003) by 74.5% when compared to control specimens with pure PVAc. Correspondingly, 0.96% CNF suspensions also enhanced the strength of starch adhesive by 34.5%. Lower and higher CNF concentrations showed clearly inferior performance. (PDF) Effect of Cellulose Nanofibrils on the Bond Strength of Polyvinyl Acetate and Starch Adhesives for Wood.
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| 8. |
- Levanic, Jaka, et al.
(författare)
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Cellulose fiber and nanofibril characteristics in a continuous sono-assisted process for production of TEMPO-oxidized nanofibrillated cellulose
- 2022
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Ingår i: Cellulose. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0969-0239 .- 1572-882X. ; 29:17, s. 9121-9142
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A hardwood dissolving pulp and bleached softwood Kraft pulp were subjected to continuous ultrasonic cavitation assisted TEMPO-mediated oxidation. The effects of such processing on the yield of carboxylic groups, morphological changes of the fibers as well as the effects on the final nanocellulose dispersion were studied. Ultrasonic cavitation in the TEMPO-mediated oxidation phase enhanced the yield of carboxylic groups on both pulps while having a negligible effect on materials losses due to fiber fines formation. The effect of ultrasonic cavitation was purely mechanical and acted as an additional high-shear mixer in the pre-treatment phase. As a result, the morphological changes on the fibers were enhanced, with additional swelling and fiber straightening being observed. Furthermore, the ultrasonic cavitation also influenced the properties of the nanocellulose dispersion obtained from subsequent microfluidization. The sonicated samples exhibited higher optical clarity, higher elasticity in gels while also having somewhat lower viscosities. On nanoscale, ultrasonic cavitation helped the subsequent microfluidization in releasing better individualized nanofibrils as they had smaller diameters than in non-sonicated samples. Sonication also had no effect on the crystallinity properties of the nanocellulose, the observed slight reduction was a result of intense microfluidization that was used to produce the nanocellulose dispersion. Ultrasonic cavitation in the TEMPO-oxidized pre-treatment phase was shown to be a method that can increase the throughput in lab-scale by mechanical activation of pulps and enabling shorter processing times for TEMPO-mediated oxidation. [GRAPHICS] .
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| 9. |
- Peiponen, K. -E, et al.
(författare)
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Sorting microplastics from other materials in water samples by ultra-high-definition imaging
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of the European Optical Society-Rapid Publications. - : EDP Sciences. - 1990-2573. ; 19:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study a commercial particle analyzer was used to image and help sorting microplastic particles (MPs) dispersed in filtrated and de-aerated tap water. The device provides a relatively easy and fast procedure for obtaining ultra-high-definition imaging, allowing the determination of shape, size, and number of 2D-projections of solid particles. The image analysis revealed clear differences among the studied different MPs originating from the grinding of five common grades of plastic sheets as they affect the image rendering differently, principally due to the light scattering either at the surface or in the volume of the microplastics. The high-quality imaging of the device also allows the discrimination of the microplastics from air bubbles with well-defined spherical shapes as well as to obtain an estimate of the size of MPs in a snapshot. We associate the differences among the shapes of the identified MPs in this study depending on the plastic type with known physical properties, such as brittleness, crystallinity, or softness. Furthermore, as a novel method we exploit a parameter based on the light intensity map from moving particles in cuvette flow to sort MPs from other particles, such as, wood fiber, human hair, and air bubbles. Using the light intensity map, which is related to the plastic-water refractive index ratio, the presence of microplastics in water can be revealed among other particles, but not their specific plastic type.
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| 10. |
- Roos, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of prospective residents dwelling requirements on preferences for house construction materials
- 2023
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Ingår i: Wood Material Science & Engineering. - : Taylor & Francis Ltd. - 1748-0272 .- 1748-0280. ; 18:4, s. 1275-1284
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study investigated peoples requirements for multi-story housing attributes and preferences for apartments in wooden-structure versus steel/concrete-structure multi-story buildings. Data came from an online survey conducted in Finland and Sweden that screened for respondents who expressed a preference for living in an apartment, as compared with a low-rise dwelling. Responses were analyzed using exploratory factor and regression analyses. Swedish respondents assigned significantly higher requirements to factors related to environmental and social sustainability performance than Finnish respondents. Requirements in both countries were described across three factors: environmental and social sustainability, quality, and design. Factor scores differed between socioeconomic sub-groups, particularly regarding quality, between urban and non-urban respondents. Preferences to live in an apartment in a wooden building were positively associated with respondents requirements for environmental and social sustainability, and negatively with requirements for quality-related attributes. Opposite relationships were found in the Swedish sample for apartments in non-wooden structure houses. Design requirements had no significant association with preferences for a specific material in load-bearing structures for multi-story buildings, in either country. The findings can contribute toward enhanced marketing efforts and customized value propositions to increase the social acceptability of multi-story wooden buildings and advance climate-related goals within the housing sector.
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