Preparation of Benzylated Wood Meal by Mechanochemical Processing

In this study, we prepared benzylated wood meal by a mechanochemical processing method, and investigated the effects of processing time and amount of reagents. Wood meal of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) heartwood, benzyl chloride, and 40% sodium hydroxide aqueous were measured, and processed in a high-speed vibration rod mill for up to three hours at room temperature. Pre-treatment of mercerization was not done to the initial wood meal. The weight percent gain (WPG) of the processed wood meal was calculated based on the yield after washing. WPG of the benzylated wood meal was affected by the additional amount of both 40% sodium hydroxide aqueous and benzyl chloride, and the processing time. The maximum WPG was 68.8% at the processing condition of wood meal 5.0 g, 40% sodium hydroxide aqueous 7.5 g, benzyl chloride 14.0 g, and the processing time of 180 min. According to FT-IR analysis of the benzylated wood meals, the hydroxy groups (3450 cm) were increasingly replaced with benzyl groups (699 cm, 740 cm), as the WPG of wood meal increased. These results showed that the benzylation of wood meal was progressed by the mechanochemical processing method.