Investigating changes in the chemical consitutents and dimensional stability of heat-treated hornbeam and uludag fir wood

Abstract

Changes in chemical constituents and some physical properties such as swelling and water absorption of hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L) and uludag fir (Abies bornmulleriana Mattf.) wood were investigated after heat treatment at three different temperatures (170 oC, 190 oC, and 210 oC) for three different durations (4, 8, and 12 hours) by using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry. The results of TGA show that there was less weight loss in the main degradation region (300-500 oC) for the heat-treated samples as compared to untreated (control) samples. In addition, there was greater weight loss of hornbeam wood than of uludag fir wood in a similar degradation region. This difference could be due to the chemical constituents of softwoods and hardwoods. The results of FTIR spectrometry show that the chemical constituents of the hornbeam wood samples were more affected by heat treatment. All heat-treated samples exhibited lower water absorption and swelling compared to control samples. It was found that the relative decrease in swelling and water absorption for uludag fir was higher than for hornbeam. The maximum decrease in water absorption and swelling was found for both species that were heat-treated at 210 oC for 12 hours.