Modification of lignocellulosic fibers with organic and inorganic additives and improvement of the properties of related products

Lignocellulosic materials stand out as one of the most important sustainable raw material sources. Although each lignocellulosic material has a very specific characteristic distributed in a very wide range, they have some similar properties such as natural and pleasant appearance, warm feeling, strong structure to withstand different processes, low thermal expansion, thermal and electrical insulation. The fiber strength to the fiber weight ratio of the lignocellulosic materials is also higher than most fibrous material. They have many uses as raw materials in industrial applications thanks to all these features yet they have some very crucial disadvantages in terms of the final product. It has become one of the focus points of the sector to develop new and high-value-added products by enhancing these positive aspects of these lignocellulosic materials and by eliminating these disadvantages as much as possible. The main focuses of the current thesis study can be stated as: a) to reduce the dust formation of the products and to eliminate airborne dust particles as much as possible by surface modification of the lignocellulosic fiber raw materials; b) to enhance the water/moisture resistance of the products by adding inorganic filler materials with hydrophobic characteristics; c) to reduce the free-formaldehyde emission from the formaldehyde-based synthetic resins that are used to bind the lignocellulosic fibers and improve mechanical properties of the final product.