Sustainable Sawdust/Eucalyptol Absorption Matrix for Odor Slow-Release in Plywood Floor

Abstract

A sustainable matrix based on eucalyptol essential oil/sawdust was developed and applied on laminated plywood. This finish aims to serve as a eucalyptol odor slow release. Eucalyptol odor release was monitored with gas chromatography coupled with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID: Limits of Detection and Quantification of 0.70 g/m3 and 2.11 g/m3, respectively, and with linearity up to 18.6 g/m3). Measurement of the eucalyptol odor released was performed during a six-month period, and it was found that the release followed a first-order exponential decay with a decay rate constant of 0.0169 per day. The half-life was determined to be of 48 days. The granulometry and particle size porosity of sawdust were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy. A sawdust size fraction of 112–200 μm showed the best eucalyptol absorption capacity, with 1:3 masses ratio (sawdust:eucalyptol). The release duration of eucalyptol is influenced by the quantity of the eucalyptol–sawdust composite and the aperture size for release. Through the determination of this relationship, it was found that applying 15.0 g of the composite through a 0.8 mm diameter aperture resulted in a 6-month eucalyptol release period. This outcome is regarded as highly favorable, considering the inherent high volatility of eucalyptol and the relatively small amount of composite required for future product applications. The new product is characterized by a carbon footprint (considering the industry frontiers) of 5.94 kg CO2eq/m2 of plywood floor.