WOOD RESEARCH Volume 66, Number 6, 2021
Radosław Mirski, Aleksandra Banaszak, Ewa Fabisiak, and Joanna Siuda

Anatomical properties of straw of various annual plants used for the production of wood panels

The aim of this study was to determine basic anatomical features of annual plant fibers used as wood substitutes for the production of wood-based panels. For this purpose rye, wheat, triticale, rape and corn straw were used. The determination of the morphological features of the fibers was conducted on the macerated material. Fiber lengths, fiber diameters and lumens were measured, and then the fiber wall thicknesses and slenderness ratios were calculated. The result clearly showed significant differences among all fiber characteristics of the tested plants. The strength and direction of the relationship between the anatomical properties determined in the study and the physicomechanical properties of the boards produced with straw from the tested annual plants were identified.

WOOD RESEARCH Volume 66, Number 3, 2021
Intan Fajar Suri, Byantara Darsan Purusatama, Seung Hwan Lee, Nam Hun Kim, Wahyu Hidayat, Shalehudin Denny Ma’ruf, and Fauzi Febrianto

Characteristic features of the oil-heat treated woods from tropical fast growing wood species

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of oil-heat treatment on the anatomical, physical, and chemical properties of the tropical fast-growing wood species as gmelina (Gmelinaarborea) and mindi (Melia azedarach) wood. Vessel lumen area and diameter in radial and tangential direction of both species increased with increasing temperature. The fiber lumen areas in both woods were remarkably decreased by oil-heat treatment, and the fiber wall area increased considerably with increasing temperature. Both woods tended to gain weight after heat treatment at 180°C and 200°C, and then lose weight after heat treatment at 220°C. The density of mindi increased greatly at 180°C and 200°C and slightly decreased at 220°C. The dimension of the specimens in tangential direction increased with heat treatment, but the rate decreased with increasing temperature. The relative crystallinity and crystallite width of the heat-treated woods were greater than those of the untreated wood. In the Fourier transform infrared analyses, the peaks from the carbohydrates were changed after oil-heat treatment, mainly due to the degradation of hemicellulose. Consequently, it was revealed that the heat treatment affected various properties of gmelina and mindi woods. Differing characteristics between the species were also noted.