title: Enhancing anti-microbial properties of wood-plastic composites produced from timber and plastic wastes.
abstract: Considering the resource waste and environmental burden for timber and plastic materials ending up at landfills, this study proposed upcycling wood and plastic waste into value-added wood-plastic composites (WPCs), complying with the standard requirements of flexural strength, thickness swelling, water absorption and thermal insulation. Biological deterioration is a major concern of WPCs. Bacterial survival, fungal attack and algal growth of bactericide-treated WPCs were holistically analysed. Melamine resin was adopted for impregnating anti-microbial agents on the surface. All the agents showed excellent bactericidal rate (Escherichia coli), yet poly-diallyl-dimethyl-ammonium chloride (PolyDADMAC) and silver had the lowest minimum inhibitory concentrations. In terms of weight loss and strength reduction due to fungal decay (Coriolus versicolor), PolyDADMAC, silver and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) imparted the highest resistance on the WPCs. Moreover, PolyDADMAC and copper provided the most protection against algal growth (Chlorella vulgaris), and the former presented durable inhibitory effect. This study presents a value-added solution to wood/plastic waste recycling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Season S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. dan.tsang@polyu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Daniel C W
authors.initials: DCW
authors.lastname: Tsang
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Chi Sun
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Poon
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Resources and Environmental Science & Korea Biochar Research Center, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Sik
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Ok
mesh_terms: D048408:Chlorella vulgaris; D005658:Fungi; D010969:Plastics; D059027:Recycling; D014934:Wood
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics
keywords: Algal growth; Anti-bacterial properties; Fungal decay; Waste recycling; Wood-plastic composites