مجله تحقیقات علوم چوب و کاغذ ایران
سال سی و هشتم شماره 1 (پیاپی 82، بهار 1402)

In order to achieve the higher competitive advantage, identifying and prioritizing the various factors of sustainable supply chain management and its relationship with the performance of the companies producing home and office furniture, have been selected as the main purpose of this study. The statistical population in both the qualitative and quanitative parts consisted of experts, and specialists in the field of sustainable supply chain management and the company performance, including managers and operational engineers of furniture manufacturing companies in Tehran province. In the qualitative part, the interview method and content analysis were used to identify effective factors and in the quantitative part, a reseracher – made questionnaire based on Likert- scale was used to collect data and Pearson correlation and Friedman tests were used to understand the causal relationships between research variables and prioritize them. The validity and reliability of research tools in both parts were tested and confirmed using different methods. The results showed that supply chain management practices have a direct and positive effect on the home and office wooden furniture firms. Also in the sustainable supply chain management, the dimensions of delay time, product cost and design and adaptation to the environment were given first to third priority. Also in terms of performance, the dimensions of rapid response and the proposed changes of customers in the responsible volume, investment returns and customers' preference to buy from top names were given first to third priority.

Various corrugated board making units operate in a wide range from small workshops to large industrial units in the country. These units possess the necessary conditions to play an effective role in economic growth, job creation and development of export markets. Introducing the components and sub-components that affect the sustainability of production in this industry can be a roadmap for the business activities of those interested in this type of business. The purpose of this research is to identify and prioritize the components and sub-components of production sustainability in corrugated board making industries, to determine their current position by evaluating the different operations management activities and monitoring sustainable production performance in order to achieve the desired levels of production sustainability of carton manufacturing units. By studying and reviewing the available literature and sources, seven main components affecting the sustainability of production in the corrugated board making industry, namely regulations, economic, environmental, technological, social, human, material and product, and 43 sub-components were identified by setting up a researcher made questionnaire. The questionnaire construction and distribution among the managers and experts of the industry with the aim of influencing each component and sub-component on production stability and their current status were investigated and the results were analyzed with the relevant tests. Based on the findings of the research, all the components affecting the sustainability of production based on the standard coefficients and significance of the structural equations as well as the predictive criterion of verification and quality of the data presented with the redundancy index with cross-validity have the necessary validity for prediction. The prioritization of components based on the rank average and the distance to the sustainability of the economic, material, product and technological components showed the lowest distance and the environmental components, rules and regulations showed the greatest distance to achieve sustainability in the carton industry. Therefore, in order to achieve the sustainability of production in the industry of environmental components, laws and regulations should be paid more attention. Corrugated board making companies can take advantage of the results of this research in order to achieve sustainable production. Therefore, by examining and analyzing their current situation, they determine the position of their organization in terms of the components and sub-components of production sustainability, and then to achieve a better position, they fix the deficiencies and related problems by determining and implementing projects.

One of the problems of papers and cardboards in the packaging industry is the poor resistance to water, gas, and oil penetration. Nowadays, much research have been done on the use of biodegradable films and coatings based on polysaccharides to solve this problem. Chitosan is one of these polysaccharides that can be used as a biodegradable coating in packaging papers. In this study, the effect of chitosan on the strength and barrier properties of coated liner paper was investigated. Chitosan was used in three levels 10, 15, and 20 g/L acetic acids (1%) and with two softener ratios (glycerol) of 0.5 and 1 (based on dry weight of chitosan) for papers coating. Strength properties including tensile, burst and tear index and barrier properties including water absorption, air resistance, and oil absorption in the coated samples were investigated. The Statistical analysis of results showed that the barrier properties increased significantly. Also, the effect of increasing the concentration of softener in the coating solution on the properties of air resistance and oil absorption was positive but negative for water absorption. The basis weight, burst and tear index of the coated samples increased with increasing coating weight, on the other hand the tensile strength decreased. Moreover, increasing the concentration of softener in the coating solution showed a negative effect on the properties of the samples. The results of the scanning electron microscope images showed that formation of chitosan film and the increase in the uniformity of the liner paper surfaces, especially in higher consumption amounts.

Sandwich panels are one of the most advanced forms of composite structures that are widely used. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of three types of resin: urea formaldehyde (UF), melamine formaldehyde (MF) and the combination of urea formaldehyde + melamine formaldehyde (UF + MF) two core layer densities (400 and 500 kg/m3) on physical and mechanical properties of sandwich panels made of palm leaves waste. Pressure temperature, pressure and time for all panels were 175 °C, 35 kg /cm2 and 9 minutes, respectively. The final thickness of all panels was the same and equal to 25 mm. Physical and mechanical properties include; Water absorption (WA), thickness swelling (TS), modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), impact bending strength (IBS) and internal bonding (IB) were performed on the samples. The results showed that there was a significant (p<0.05) difference between the values of different treatments at the level of 95%. Physical properties (except thickness swelling) and mechanical properties with a density of 500 kg/m3 improved. The use of MF and UF + MF resins significantly improved the physical and mechanical properties of sandwich panels due to its high adhesive quality.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of the wood-plastic nanocomposite obtained from Raw and Functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs). For this purpose, wood flour at a fixed amount of 50%, Raw CNTs at three levels of 0, 1 and 2% and coupling agent at two levels of 0 and 3% were used in HDPE matrix. Also, Functionalized CNTS were used to strengthen the efficiency of nanocomposites at 1 and 2% levels separately. The materials were mixed together in an internal mixer (Haake) and then the samples were made by a hot press machine. The results showed that by increasing the amount of CNTs from 0 to 2% wt, the tensile strength and modulus of the samples increased by 58.8% and 12.6% respectively, and water absorption and thickness shrinkage decreased by 54.5% and 19.4% respectively. Composites containing 2% wt of CNTs showed higher impact resistance compared to control samples. The coupling agent had a positive effect on the performance of nanocomposites. The physical and mechanical properties of the samples were significantly improved by adding the coupling agent and Functionalized CNTs. The results were also confirmed by scanning electron microscopy.

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of hydrothermal treatment with boric acid impregnation on some physical and mechanical characteristics and fire resistance of poplar (Populus nigra) and radiata pine (Pinus radiata) wood. In this study, two times of 60 and 90 minutes with two temperatures of 150○C and 180○C were used for the hydrothermal treatment, and boric acid with concentrations of 1, 3 and 5% dissolved in water used for the impregnation treatment. The measurement of the characteristics, including bending strength, impact resistance, volumetric swilling and fire resistance (weight loss due to fire) were done by ASTM-D143, ASTM-D256, ASTM 4446-2002 and ISO 11925 standards, respectively. About fire resistance, 5% boric acid treatment showed the least weight loss due to burning in the wood of two species. As a result of the hydrothermal treatment alone, the fire resistance was even lower than the control. In this regard, the combination of hydrothermal treatment with boric acid treatment resulted in results close to those of hydrothermal with boric acid treatment. Positive effect of hydrothermal treatment on the improvement of dimensional stability, is considered as one of the results of the present study. The temperature of 180○C with a time of 90 minutes reduced the swelling of poplar and radiata pine by about 36.8 and 42%, respectively. Regarding impact resistance, the effect of hydrothermal treatment on the wood of both species and the effect of boric acid treatment on radiata pine wood were negative. Hydrothermal treatment at a temperature of 180○C and with a time of 90 minutes decreased the impact resistance by 28.2% in the wood of both species, and 5% boric acid treatment caused a 13.3% decrease in this property in radiata pine wood.