Umidade de equilíbrio em madeira termorretificada de três espécies florestais do norte de Mato Grosso

Abstract

The heat treatment applied to the wood leads to the degradation and/or rearrangement of its principal chemical constituents, especially cellulose,hemicelluloses, and lignin,improving some properties such as dimensional stability, resistance to attack by wood decay organisms, and reducing the hygroscopicity. This occurs mainly by the OH groups’ degradation present in hemicelluloses, the most hydrophilic wood constituent. This study aimed to determine the thermal rectification effect on the hygroscopic equilibrium in the woods of Pente -de- macaco (Apeiba echinata), Tachi (Tachigalia paniculata) e Peroba d’água (Rauwolfia paraenses). For this, was evaluated use of different temperatures (140°C, 160°C and 180°C) on the hygroscopicity of the wood was evaluated. For all thermal rectified woods, a reduction in hygroscopic equilibrium content was observed, whose results indicated great potential of thermal treatment, mainly in 180°C.