ENERGY SAVING OF WOOD DUE TO ITS MODIFICATION

Modified wood is wood that is improved with special modifiers in order to increase its strength, durability and water-, bio-, fire- and corrosion resistance, which, unlike natural wood, makes it more resistant to various environmental factors. This wood is good to use in construction, and it will be effective for further development, as the buildings will be used longer, and less likely to be subject to repair and reconstruction, which will reduce deforestation. The most popular methods of modification are thermomechanical modification with preliminary steaming of wood, its heating, or with preliminary impregnation with mineral oils; thermochemical modification; chemical modification; radiation-chemical modification. Each type of the above modifications differs in its properties, and also have their own impact on a particular type of wood. The most common and most effective method of modification is achieved by thermomechanical processing. Since it is when the wood is heated, after the introduction of the necessary modifiers into it, the polymers begin to heat up, due to which the vessels of the wood harden, which affects its density. To avoid the destruction of wood, it is very important to monitor the temperature and prevent it from reaching high heating levels.

Experimental production of oleophilic materials based on ore wastes

Представлены результаты исследования свойств гранулированного пеносиликата, полученного из отходов руды слюдяного сланца. Проанализировано влияние термохимической модификации на пористость материала. Установлено, что модифицированный пеносиликат приобретает олеофильные и гидрофобные свойства, что подтверждается результатами сравнительных испытаний материала на влаго- и нефтеемкость. Показана возможность применения модифицированного пеносиликата в качестве основы для создания новых олеофильных материалов. The article presents the results of a study of the properties of granular foam silicate obtained from mica schist ore wastes. The effect of thermochemical modification on the porosity of the material is analyzed. It is established that the modified foam silicate acquires oleophilic and hydrophobic properties, which is confirmed by the results of comparative tests of the material for moisture capacity and oil capacity. The possibility of using modified foam silicate as the basis for the creation of new oleophilic materials is shown.

Mesozoic denudation history of the lower Orange River and eastward migration of erosion across the southern African Plateau

Topographic uplift of the southern African Plateau is commonly attributed to mantle causes, but the links between mantle processes, uplift, and erosion patterns are not necessarily straightforward. We acquired apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) dates from eight kimberlite and basement samples from the lower reaches of the large westward-draining Orange River system with the goal of evaluating the roles of lithospheric modification and river incision on the erosion history here. Average AHe dates range from 79 to 118 Ma and thermal history models suggest that most samples are consistent with a main erosion phase at ca. 120–100 Ma, with some variability across the region indicating a complex erosion history. Major erosion overlaps with the timing of strong lithospheric thermochemical modification as recorded in xenoliths from the studied kimberlites, but the denudation pattern does not mimic the northward progression of lithospheric alteration across the study region. We attribute this area’s denudation history to a combination of mantle effects, rifting, establishment of the Orange River outlet at its current location, and later faulting. When considering these results with other kimberlite-derived surface histories from an ∼1000-km-long E-W transect across the plateau, an eastward-younging trend in denudation is evident. The interplay of mantle processes and the shape of the large, west-draining Orange River basin likely control this first order-pattern.