Thermal decomposition of cellulose crystallites in wood

D. Y. Kim, Y. Nishiyama, M. Wada, S. Kuga, T. Okano

Research output: Contribution to specialist publicationArticle

117 Scopus citations

Abstract

Decomposition of cellulose crystallites in wood during pyrolysis was studied by X-ray diffraction using a tension wood of Populus maximowiczii (cottonwood), which contains highly crystalline cellulose. X-ray diffraction profiles were recorded at varied temperature up to 360°C. By one-hour isothermal treatments, the cellulose crystallites did not decompose at 300°C, but completely decomposed at 340°C. The change in equatorial diffraction profile was studied by temperature scan up to 360°C and by isothermal treatment at the critical temperature of 320°C. Along with the changes by thermal expansion, the changes in diffraction diagram revealed a characteristic discrepancy between the diminishment of crystalline order and the reduction in crystallite size; i.e., the intensity of crystalline reflections diminished steadily while the crystallite size decreased much more slowly. A model of highly heterogeneous decomposition is proposed to explain this behavior.

Original languageEnglish
Pages521-524
Number of pages4
Volume55
No5
Specialist publicationHolzforschung
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001

Keywords

  • Cellulose crystallites
  • Populus maximowiczii
  • Tension wood
  • Thermal decomposition
  • X-ray diffraction

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