Process for producing woody molding

Abstract

A method is provided for manufacturing a molded woody article. The method includes compression molding a base material containing wood fibers, polylactic acid fibers and an inorganic filler at a temperature not less than a melting point of said polylactic acid fibers, and maintaining said molded base material at a temperature close to a crystallization temperature of said polylactic acid fibers for a desired period of time, thereby crystallizing the polylactic acid fibers. In the molding step, the base material is entirely deformed and molded into a desired shape while the polylactic acid fibers are melted, and in the crystallizing step, the polylactic acid fibers are solidified, thereby producing the molded article. In the crystallizing step, polylactic acid crystallizes rapidly and reliably utilizing the inorganic filler as a crystal nucleating agent. Polylactic acid crystallizes from portions contacting the wood fibers.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.