Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

The effect of thermal treatment on the chemical components, equilibrium moisture content (EMC), and shrinkage of teak juvenile wood was studied. Heartwood and sapwood samples were thermally-treated at 180 ºC and 200 ºC. Extractive, Klason lignin, holocellulose, and α-cellulose contents, as well as pH on untreated and thermally-treated woods, were determined. The EMC was reached at five relative humidity (RH) levels using saturated salt solutions: 86 % (KCl), 76 % (NaCl), 58 % (NaBr), 33 % (MgCl2), and 0 % (P2O5). Linear and volumetric shrinkages were calculated for all EMCs. The ratio of sorption (S), coefficient of shrinkage (h), and fiber saturation point (FSP) were also determined. Thermally-treated wood exhibited lower holocellulose and α-cellulose contents than untreated wood and increased acidity due to degradation of the hemicelluloses. The thermal treatment reduced the EMC of heartwood and sapwood. However, sapwood was more sensitive to RH variations than heartwood regardless of the treatment. Thermally-treated woods had higher hygroscopic and dimensional stabilities, and lower FSP than untreated wood. The thermal treatment did not affect radial shrinkage of the heartwood between 33 % and 86 % RH. Heartwood was more sensitive to the effect of the thermal treatment on shrinkage and degradation of cell wall polymers compared to sapwood.

The quantitative evaluation of longitudinal drying strain can provide relevant information for the processing wood and lumber industry, especially with regard to reaction wood in Corymbia, since little has been published. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the steam conditioning and the cooling on the longitudinal drying strain (LDS) obtained from a strain gauge, called extensometer, in boards of both normal and tension wood of Corymbia citriodora. Lumbers 30 mm thick were produced and kiln dried at the initial temperature of 40 °C, final temperature of 65 °C and drying potential of 2,1. The LDS were measured before and after steam conditioning on hot and cold lumbers. It was observed that the conditioning did not reduce the LDS. Hot lumbers showed higher LDS values than the cold lumbers. The LDS values measured in normal, tension and opposite woods were statistically similar, indicating that the type of wood was not an influential factor in the appearance of longitudinal drying stresses. Extensometer proved to be feasible for measuring LDS, allowing its easy and quick quantification.

Chemical composition of wood is known to change during thermal treatments. Two species grown in Turkey, afrormosia (Pericopsis elata) and duka (Tapirira guianensis) were heat treated according to Thermowood® method. Lignin, cellulose, hemicelluloses and extractives in dichloromethane, ethanol and water were determined. Wood extracts were analysed by gas chromatography with mass detection and existing compounds were identified by NIST17 database. Results show that hemicelluloses and cellulose content decreased for both heat-treated woods along the treatment while lignin percentage increased. The analysis of extractives has shown several compounds normally associated to lignin thermal degradation that increased along the treatment. At the same time several compounds associated to carbohydrate thermal degradation were found in all the extracts for both heat-treated woods. These founding have allowed the understanding of the degradation pattern of wood during thermal modification. There was not much difference between afrormosia and duka woods structural compounds behaviour along thermal modification. However, the variation of the amount of extractives along the treatment depended on the species.

Understanding the drivers of wood density variation both within a tree and between trees is important in predicting the quality of wood logs and improving this quality through adequate forestry management. This study examined the effect of the diameter growth of Acacia auriculiformis on its wood density variation. The study was conducted in the South of Benin in four plantations of Acacia auriculiformis. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) method was used to predict the basic density of 225 tree wood cores of Acacia auriculiformis. A predicting model of the average tree density using the diameter as predictor was established. The relationship between wood density and tree diameter was best described by a linear mixed-effect model. The average wood density of trees increased with the diameter. The study concluded that the quality of the species logs can be improved through regular thinning and genetic selection.

En el presente trabajo se evaluó el comportamiento de la madera de Eucalyptus globulus sin preservar, expuesta a la intemperie durante un año en la ciudad de La Plata, Argentina. Se analizó la evolución del color y la presencia de defectos, y su relación con algunas variables climáticas y con el contenido de humedad de la madera. Se colocaron 54 muestras (2,5 cm x 12 cm x 50 cm) en un expositor exterior con inclinación de 45º (norte) y sobre ellas se determinó mensualmente color (CIELab*), humedad y defectos. Una muestra sin exposición fue considerada testigo. Entre los 150-180 días de comenzar el ensayo, los parámetros L*, a* y b* alcanzaron valores cercanos al mínimo (49,22; -6,5; -1,90 respectivamente); al finalizar presentaron cambios significativos respecto a los valores iniciales (∆L*=22,55; ∆a*=5,41; ∆b*=16,64; ∆E*total=29,10) y al testigo. Los valores de radiación solar y precipitaciones no influyeron significativamente en el color mientras que la temperatura afectó al parámetro a*. El contenido de humedad de la madera se correlacionó con la presencia de algunos defectos, pero no afectó al color. El intemperismo provocó pérdida del color natural, adquiriendo un tono grisáceo (a* y b*cercanos a 0=acromático y L*=47,6) y aumentó el agrietado, siendo los primeros 150 días de exposición claves en este proceso.

This study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition of wood particles (control and treated), and the effects of thermal modification and adhesive levels on the wettability and biological resistance of particleboards made of sugarcane residue and bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper). Therefore, 75% bamboo particles and 25% sugarcane residue (bagasse) were used for producing the particleboards. The particles were treated at 220 °C for 3h35min. Urea formaldehyde (UF) adhesive was used in three solid contents (10%, 12% and 14%) based on the dry mass of the particles. The mat was cold pre-consolidated (pressure of 0,5 MPa for 5 min) and after hot consolidated (3,45 MPa, 180 ºC, 10 min). Water and ethylene glycol and two measurement times were used to measure the contact angle.  Gloeophyllum trabeum and Rhodonia placenta (brown rot) and Trametes versicolor (white rot) fungi were used for the biological resistance test. There was a change in the chemical composition of the treated particles such as a reduction in the levels of lignin (bagasse and bamboo), total extracts and holocellulose (bagasse). The thermal treatment increased the final contact angles obtained with water. The particleboard surfaces were classified as non-wettable and partially wettable to the tested solvents. The thermal treatment provided biological resistance improvements in the particleboards to the tested fungi, being classified as very resistant to Rhodonia placenta, resistant to very resistant to Gloeophyllum trabeum, and moderate to resistant to Trametes versicolor.

Since the treatability of Oriental spruce wood (Picea orientalis) with preservative solutions is difficult and considered as a refractory wood species, this study was intended to bring its treatability class by a bioincising process to the level of sapwood of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), a desirable wood species for the forest products industry. Bioincising process by Physisporinus vitreus fungus was applied to wood samples from sapwood and heartwood portions of spruce wood. The samples with two different weight loss groups (5–10 % and 10–15 %) in the bioincising process were used to detect changes in treatability with wood preservative solutions caused by the fungus. The bioincised and unincised control samples were treated with either micronized copper quat (MCQ) or alkaline copper quat type D (ACQ-D) wood preservative solutions by either dipping or vacuum methods. Following impregnation with the preservative solutions, the effects of the bioincising process on CuO (copper oxide) retention, and the leaching of Cu (copper) element were determined. The results showed that CuO retention levels increased after the bioincising process. Moreover, there was greater CuO retention in the spruce heartwood samples compared to the spruce and Scots pine sapwood samples. Amount of Cu element released from the Scots pine sapwood samples was found to be lower than that from the spruce sapwood and heartwood samples after the bioincising. process. The results suggest that the bioincising process by P. vitreus in refractory wood species might improve the treatability of wood by Cu-based wood preservatives.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of heat treatment on surface roughness, shear strength and hardness of two tropical wood species, namely batai (Paraserainthes falcataria) and sesendok (Endospermum malaccensis). Samples were exposed to temperature levels of 120 ºC and 180 ºC for 3 h and 6 h. The surface quality of the control and heat-treated samples were determined using a stylus technique. Hardness and shear strength of the samples were evaluated using Janka hardness and block-shear test, respectively. The results reveal that the surface roughness of batai improved 3 % for 80-grit and 5 % for 180-grit samples while surface roughness of sesendok improved 7 % and 10 % for 80-grit and 180-grit, respectively by the increase of the heat temperature and prolonged durations. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) also revealed that most of the tested properties on the treated wood were significantly affected by the species, girt number and also temperature. In contrast to the untreated wood species, the heat-treated wood species exhibited lower values of shear strength and hardness. Overall, the hardness and shear of both species were adversely influenced by heat exposure.

En el presente trabajo se determinaron los parámetros colorimétricos mediante el sistema CIELAB y la densidad aparente por densitometría de rayos X en madera de Guazuma crinita para obtener información de su calidad en el uso como madera solida o transformada. La evaluación se realizó en tres niveles del eje axial (basal, medio y apical) de una plantación de 5 y 8 años, en la zona de Puerto Inca, departamento de Huánuco, Perú. En ambas edades, empleando el sistema CIElab, se encontró que la madera es de coloración homogénea y se clasifica como rosa grisáceo. La densidad aparente medida por densitometría de rayos X en el sentido médula - corteza fue de 0,52 g/cm3 y 0,56 g/cm3 para 5 y 8 años respectivamente; con promedios mayores en el nivel basal (5 años: 0,65; 8 años:0,68) y menores en el nivel apical (5 años: 0,43; 8 años: 0,47). Los perfiles densitométricos mostraron, en general, que radialmente hay un aumento de la densidad aparente en el sentido médula - corteza. La densidad de la madera madera de 5 años resultó más uniforme que la de 8 años con un índice de uniformidad de 149,7 y 170,3, respectivamente.

This study aimed to evaluate the spatial distribution of the air circulation speed and the final moisture content of pine lumber after kiln drying by using geostatistics. Two kilns acting on boards of 27 mm and 42 mm were evaluated. Air circulation speed and final moisture content were collected in different regions of the kilns. There was no significant difference for air circulation speed and final moisture content between the front and rear regions of the equipment. In the horizontal axis (Y-axis), air circulation speed averages did not differ statistically in both situations, but higher values ​​for this variable were obtained from the spaces between the piles. Final moisture content tended to increase when closer to the door opening. In the vertical axis (Z-axis), the lower part tended to reach higher air circulation speed values. Thus, the spatial behavior influences the air circulation speed and final moisture content during lumber drying. Besides, the variograms presented the same tendency in comparison to the data obtained in a conventional manner, which indicates that geostatistics can be used to represent variables in kilns during the drying process.