Composites made by combining wood fibers or wood flour with polymer resins comprise a fast-growing market segment (see, for example, the article under “Related Content,” at left). The low weight and mechanical properties of wood plastic composites (WPCs) have enabled fabrication of products with greater sustainability in such areas as building, construction and automotive engineering, resulting in a growing number of applications, particularly in decking, fencing and related outdoor residential products and semistructural interior automotive panels. A new book, entitled Wood-Polymer Composites published by Woodhead Publishing Ltd. (Great Abington, Cambridge, U.K.), is now available from Research and Markets (Dublin, Ireland). It reviews the manufacture of wood-polymer composites, describes how their properties can be assessed and improved and explores their range of uses.

After an introductory chapter, the book reviews key aspects of manufacture, including raw materials, manufacturing technologies and interactions between wood and synthetic polymers. Building on this foundation, the following chapters discuss mechanical and other properties, such as durability, creep behavior and processing performance. The book also looks at oriented wood-polymer composites and wood-polymer composite foams, considers ways to assess performance and concludes by reviewing the range of current and future applications.

The price of the report in hard copy is €238. For more information, visit the Research and Markets Web site: www.researchandmarkets.com.