WOOD RESEARCH Volume 70, Number 2, 2025
CHUN-WON KANG, MASUMI HASEGAWA, KAWANISHI MARIA, and HARADHAN KOLYA

Short notes. INFLUENCE OF WOOD ANATOMY ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF GUANIDINE BASED FIRE RETARDANTS IN FIVE FAST GROWING JAPANESE HARDWOODS

This study investigates the influence of wood anatomy on the distribution of fire retardant chemicals in five fast-growing Japanese hardwood species (Melia azedarach, Toona sinensis, Choerospondias axillaris, Alnus japonica, and Liriodendron tulipifera). Given Japan’s increasing demand for sustainable and locally sourced materials, fire retardant treatments are critical for enhancing fire resistance in fast-growing hardwoods used for construction. Using low vacuum scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we examined the distribution of fire retardants in cross-section, radial section, and tangential sections, comparing the effectiveness in ring-porous versus diffuse-porous species. Results revealed that diffuse-porous species (Alnus japonica and Liriodendron tulipifera) retained higher levels of fire retardants with a more even distribution. In contrast, ring-porous species (Melia azedarach, Toona sinensis, Choerospondias axillaris) showed the highest chemical concentration at the edges.

WOOD RESEARCH Volume 67, Number 3, 2022
Vinodini Raman, Kang Chiang Liew, and Rafidah Md Salim

Relationship between cell lumen area and lignin content of alkaline-treated densified timber of Paraserianthes falcataria

In this study, low-density plantation timber, Paraserianthes falcataria was pretreated with 3%, 6% and 9% NaOH before densification process. Alkaline pretreatment leads to lignin reductions and cell wall structure becomes more porous. Densification was done by crushing the cell wall with hot-press machine, resulting in reduction of thickness to about 60%. Scanning electron microscopy images were captured and processed through ImageJ software. As to support the data, lignin content determination was conducted according to TAPPI T222 and the correlation coefficient between cell lumen areas and lignin content were studied statistically.