American scientists recently invented a new method for making composite wood from waste plastic and wood scrap. This method uses a special molecule that can effectively connect plastics and wood fibers. Since plastics have lipophilic properties and wood fibers are hydrophilic, how to bond two different types of materials together is technically quite difficult.
According to reports, Mestre and his colleagues at the Mining Technology Research Institute in New Mexico, USA, found that using a specially designed graft copolymer molecule, plastic and wood waste can be effectively bonded. In the experiment, the researchers coated the fine wood strips with the molecules, then cut the plastic into thin strips and mixed them with the wooden strips. The mixture was then placed in a machine for heating and extrusion, and a firm brown color was finally obtained. new material. Researchers are currently studying how to further improve the properties of this composite by changing the composition ratio of wood fiber and plastic in the mixture and the temperature adjustment in the heating process in order to realize the industrialization of the packaging material as soon as possible.