The Past and Present Life of WPC Wood Plastic

As a fan of environmentally friendly wood plastic materials, We wants to talk to you today about the past and present of WPC!

Wood plastic composite (WPC) is a new type of material composed of biomass materials and thermoplastic plastics. Among them, biomass materials include wood flour, wheat straw, bran, hemp, etc. Thermoplastics can choose materials such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) according to different uses. The plastic in the wood plastic outdoor flooring of Jiangsu Senyu is a PE material with outstanding performance and stable quality.

WPC is a young and vibrant industry with a growth history of only a hundred years, and it has only been more than 20 years since it officially settled in China. After years of unremitting efforts by numerous wood plastic professionals, especially after the successful participation of wood plastic composite materials in the construction of the Beijing Olympic Games venues, "wood plastic composite materials" have gained widespread fame and development momentum. However, in the early stages of its birth, WPC was neglected due to its unstable performance and defects.

In 1907, Baekeland, a Belgian American, conducted a systematic study on phenolic resin (commonly known as bakelite, which can be used to make insulation boards, insulation materials, etc.) and found that adding wood powder or a mixture of certain fibers to phenolic resin can overcome its brittleness. At the same time, the heating and curing method of phenolic resin was proposed to obtain the true synthetic plastic - phenolic plastic. However, due to the limitations of scientific development and technology, the initial products had drawbacks such as burrs and burrs, which limited their application.

In 1910, Berlin, Germany, established the world's first enterprise to synthesize phenolic resins and plastics, as well as the world's first enterprise to produce synthetic polymer compounds, ushering in an era of human synthetic polymer compounds.

In 1916, Rolls Royce used WPC (an early phenolic resin product) as a lever for variable speed transmissions, which was the first industrial product of this technology. However, due to the poor compatibility between wood powder and plastic, this product has not been promoted.

In 1963, Bridgford invented a catalytic reaction system containing iron cations and hydrogen peroxide, which grafted unsaturated monomers onto wood fibers and effectively improved the compatibility between wood fibers and plastics. In 1964, wood plastic composite materials were hailed as one of the top ten scientific achievements in the world that year.

In 1967, the International Atomic Energy Association held a major international conference in Bangkok, Thailand, and wood plastic composite materials were listed as a research project for the peaceful use of atomic energy. Shortly thereafter, coupling agents (then known as transverse binders) were officially applied to wood fiber and plastic composites, resulting in significant improvements in their interfacial properties compared to before, and significant improvements in the physical and mechanical properties of the composite materials.

In the 1980s, WPC gradually began to be applied in the automotive industry. In the 1990s, WPC entered the building materials market and began to emerge in the Chinese market.

In the 21st century, the wood plastic industry has experienced faster and more comprehensive development. At present, WPC is widely used in various fields such as outdoor flooring, outdoor wall panels, fences, pallets, flower boxes, etc. due to its excellent characteristics of environmental safety, high strength, crack prevention and anti-corrosion, long service life, and low maintenance costs, and has been welcomed by consumers from various countries.

Although our country started this industry later than North America, our lovely Chinese people have always been proud of their hard work and wisdom, constantly striving for innovation, and making this once "foreign product" thriving. This has made the young wood plastic material manufacturing industry one of the few industries in China that can enjoy equal discourse power with manufacturers in developed countries in Europe and America.