Lignin-based Grinding Wheels with Aluminum Oxide: Synthesis and Characterization

By using renewable inexpensive plant-derived materials such as lignin and furfuryl alcohol, a new bio-based, easily-prepared, and industrially suitable thermosetting grinding wheel named lignin-furanic grinding wheel (LFG) was prepared and characterized. Cross-linking between lignin and furfuryl alcohol under acidic conditions was established by carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). In addition, as the results of thermomechanical analysis (TMA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) suggested, the lignin-furanic resin exhibited high resistance to heat, and the glass transition temperature (T-g) as high as 170 degrees C. The new lignin-based grinding wheel presented no pores or cracks in the surface and it had a high hardness and compression resistance compared to the commercial phenolic grinding wheel (PG). Moreover, it exhibited high abrasiveness, and the cutting time for a metal tube was shorter than that of PG.