Wood Veneer Reinforced with Bacterial Cellulose: Tensile Strength and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

Cellulose from plants is a natural polymer that is very abundant, cheap and easy to process. In addition, there is bacterial cellulose produced from bacterial fermentation of acetic acid with limited production but has high purity, crystallinity, and tensile strength. In this research, the process of wood-veneer delignification was carried out to self-assembly bacterial cellulose into wood cavities on bacterial culture media. Wood veneer reinforced bacteria cellulose was given heat pressure to increase the density and it was expected to form hydrogen bonds between their cellulose molecular chains. This study observed the duration of fermentation in bacterial media culture on the tensile strength of hybrid veneers, microscopic observations, the effect of water on set-recovery, and the characteristics of solid veneers on cyclic loading and temperature using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) testing. The microscopic observations prove that Acetobacter xylinum can penetrate the veneer and assemble bacterial cellulose in the cavity. A higher tensile strength ratio of 81.38% was observed in densified veneers with a five-day fermentation period with a modulus of elasticity 156.63% higher than natural veneers. The minimum set-recovery after boiling the hybrid veneer was 29.32%. DMA showed that by reinforcing wood veneer with bacterial cellulose and compacting, it increased cyclic energy storage ability, reduced energy loss, and increased stability under increasing temperatures. Strengthening wood with bacterial cellulose in this method opens new potential for developing more environmentally friendly forest products in the future.