Growth rate, slow, advantages

Potential advantages of both thermoplastics and cellu-losic materials combined with the economic and environmental viewpoint have lead to a promising utilization of both these materials in various forms of composites. Although various branches of cellulosic-thermoplastic composites industries are booming in recent years, their growth rate is very slow. In order to achieve the full potential of such valuable materials as various engineering materials and commodity products more incentives from academic, industrial, and governmental authorities are needed. 

Hydrothermal-growth is usually defined as the use of an aqueous solvent at elevated temperature and pressure to dissolve a solute which would be insoluble under ordinary conditions. The advantages of the hydrothermal technique are a low growth temperature, a AT close to 0 at liquid/solid interface, an easily scalable technique, the reduction of most of the impurities from source. The disadvantages are the presence of intermediate products, the lithium or sodium or potassium incorporation when such solvents as LiOH, NaOH or KOH are used, the slow growth rates ( 10 mils per day), the inert liner needed, the occasional incorporation of OH and H2O. 

Apparently, the potential for reducing this window of vulnerability Is fairly limited. The protein content of developing leaves could conceivably be reduced but this would slow the metabolic processes of growth and reduce the gross photosynthetic rate- Both would result in longer development times, prolonging vulnerability, and be a heavier drain on reserves, consequences which would reduce a tree s competitive advantage. 

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