2007 Research Highlights-- USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory

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2006 Highlights

o	How Well Do Arsenic-Free Preservatives Inhibit Copper-Tolerant Fungi?
o	Caulking with Care
o	Combustion Properties of an Exotic Annual Grass
o	Creosote Movement from Treated Wood Immersed in Fresh Water
o	Durable Wood, Naturally--Termite Resistance
o	Essential Oils Inhibit Mold Spore Germination
o	Fire Resistance of Strucutral Composite Lumber Products
o	Bioprocessing for Ethanol Production and a Valuable Adhesive Coproduct
o	Fuel Treatment Evaluator
o	Fuel Treatment Market
o	Genome Sequencing
o	Wood Research from World War I to Iraq
o	Reusing Remediated Wood in Value-Added Products
o	Inspecting Historic Structures: Using the Web to Train Inspection Professionals
o	Productive Use of Thinnings in Dimension Lumber and Paper
o	Treatability of Underutilized Wood Species
o	Enhancing Wood-Plastic Composites by Crosslinking Polymers
o	Accessible and Affordable Playground and Path Surfacing Now Commerically Available
o	Dimensional Warping of Wood-Based Composites

2007 Research Highlights

Research Area:
Forest Service Strategic Goal 6: Conduct mission-related work in addition to that which supports the agency goals.
SPA: Resource Management and Use

Thermoplastic Composites Reinforced with Natural Fibers and Inorganic Nano-Particles

Key Contact: Craig Clemons cclemons@fs.fed.us
Partner: Louisiana State University

FPL and Louisiana State University researchers are using advanced technologies to develop practical methods for producing sustainable, bio-based composites from wood or other residual biomass and recycled plastics and then transfer that the technology to industry. The research seeks to use residues from various agricultural industries (e.g. rice and sugar industries) in concert with difficult-to-recycle commingled plastics. The 3-year program is funded by a grant from the USDA/DOE Biomass R&D Initiative and is, in part, based on past collaboration using tiny clay particles (“nanoclays”) to improve the performance of composites made from wood and recycled plastics.