Wood-plastic composite processing technology

Jackson, S.M. Advanced process technology for manufacturing wood-polymer composites. In Wood-Plastic Conference, Conference Proceedings, Baltimore, MD, December 5-6, 2000 21-28. 

The main stream of wood fiber PP composites is short fiber reinforced, suitable for typical thermoplastic processing. The main steps of this technology are (1) pre-mixing, (2) plastic transformation of the melt (typically sheet extrusion), and (3) thermoforming (vacuum- or pressureforming) of the sheet. 

Although plastics and composites may appear to some observers to be new, because the industry has an unlimited capacity to produce new plastics to meet new performance and processing requirements, plastics and composites have been used in no-load to extremely high-load situations for over a century. The ever-evolving technology does not mean that plastics and composites will automatically replace other materials. Each material (plastics, metals, wood, aluminum, and so forth) will, basically, be used in favorable cost-to-performance situations. As of the early 1980s, more plastics were used worldwide on a volumetric basis than any other materials except wood and concrete. Before the end of this century there will be on a weight basis more plastics used than the others, except wood and concrete. 

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