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Synergistic improvement to dimensional stability of Populus cathay ana via hemicellulose removal/alkali lignin impregnation

  • Meng Yang , Runhua Zhang and Erni Ma EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: April 24, 2023
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Holzforschung
From the journal Holzforschung Volume 77 Issue 6

Abstract

Poor dimensional stability restricts the commercial utilization of fast-growing wood. In this study, fast-growing poplar (Populus cathayana) was treated by removing hemicellulose with hydrothermal treatment and impregnating alkali lignin via full-cell process, synergistically, for enhanced dimensional stability. After modification, hydroxyl groups were reduced in hemicellulose removed wood (DHC), alkali lignin was observed to fill in the cell lumens of vessels and wood fibers in the impregnated wood (AL) and in the wood modified by hemicellulose removal with alkali lignin impregnation (DHCAL). Compared with untreated wood, the volumetric swelling ratio of DHC and AL decreased by 11 % and 21 % under relative humidity (RH) of 89 %, respectively. The volumetric swelling ratio of DHCAL decreased by over 50 %, indicating a positive synergistic effect. The combination of hemicellulose removal and alkali lignin impregnation treatment improved the dimensional stability of wood significantly by reconstructing wood chemical components with various levels of hygroscopicity. This work could meaningfully contribute to the efficient utilization of fast-growing wood and promote the added value of industrial alkali lignin.

Keywords: alkali lignin; dimensional stability; fast-growing poplar; hemicellulose removal; wood modification
Corresponding author: Erni Ma, Beijing Key Laboratory of Wood Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Haidian, 100083, Beijing, China, E-mail:

Funding source: National Natural Science Foundation of China

Award Identifier / Grant number: No. 31971583

  1. Author contributions: Meng Yang: conceptualization, investigation, methodology, formal analysis, validation, data curation, visualization, writing-original draft, writing-review & editing. Runhua Zhang: investigation, methodology, visualization, supervision, writing-review & editing. Erni Ma: funding acquisition, conceptualization, methodology, resources, project administration, supervision, writing-review & editing. All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant no. 31971583.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/hf-2022-0147).

Received: 2022-09-17
Accepted: 2023-03-22
Published Online: 2023-04-24
Published in Print: 2023-06-27

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Wood Physics/Mechanical Properties
  3. Effects of seismic strain rates on the perpendicular-to-grain compression behaviour of Dahurian larch, Mongolian pine and Chinese poplar: tests and stress-strain model
  4. The effect of the growth ring orientation on spring-back and set-recovery in surface-densified wood
  5. Synergistic improvement to dimensional stability of Populus cathay ana via hemicellulose removal/alkali lignin impregnation
  6. Adding gaseous ammonia with heat treatment to improve the mechanical properties of spruce wood
  7. Wood as a hydrothermally stimulated shape-memory material: mechanisms of shape-memory effect and molecular assembly structure networks
  8. Wood Chemistry
  9. Structural comparison of different isolated eucalyptus lignins and analysis of their interaction mechanism with bovine serum albumin solution under QCM-D
  10. Role of α-Fe2O3 nano-particles in protecting wood from ultraviolet light degradation
  11. Wood Science – Non-Tree Plants
  12. Radial distribution of vascular bundle morphology in Chinese bamboos: machine learning methodology for rapid sampling and classification
https://doi.org/10.1515/hf-2022-0147
Keywords for this article
alkali lignin; dimensional stability; fast-growing poplar; hemicellulose removal; wood modification

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Wood Physics/Mechanical Properties
  3. Effects of seismic strain rates on the perpendicular-to-grain compression behaviour of Dahurian larch, Mongolian pine and Chinese poplar: tests and stress-strain model
  4. The effect of the growth ring orientation on spring-back and set-recovery in surface-densified wood
  5. Synergistic improvement to dimensional stability of Populus cathay ana via hemicellulose removal/alkali lignin impregnation
  6. Adding gaseous ammonia with heat treatment to improve the mechanical properties of spruce wood
  7. Wood as a hydrothermally stimulated shape-memory material: mechanisms of shape-memory effect and molecular assembly structure networks
  8. Wood Chemistry
  9. Structural comparison of different isolated eucalyptus lignins and analysis of their interaction mechanism with bovine serum albumin solution under QCM-D
  10. Role of α-Fe2O3 nano-particles in protecting wood from ultraviolet light degradation
  11. Wood Science – Non-Tree Plants
  12. Radial distribution of vascular bundle morphology in Chinese bamboos: machine learning methodology for rapid sampling and classification
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