Abstract
Heat-treated wood (HTW) has better dimensional stability but worse mechanical strength than untreated wood. This study aimed to overcome this shortcoming by sulfonating lignin in Balfour spruce (Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana) wood with sulfurous acid and Na2SO3 followed by heat treatment. The mass loss of as-prepared HTW decreased while the crystallinity index increased slightly compared with those of HTW without sulfonation pretreatment. The cellulose structure of the as-prepared HTW was not damaged by the sulfonation pretreatment. The as-prepared HTW showed a higher MOE, MOR, and compressive strength (CS) of 34, 32, and 22%, respectively, compared with the HTW without sulfonation treatment. The improved mechanical properties were attributed to the increase of the relative mass fraction of lignin in the secondary walls of wood, as sulfonated lignin could migrate with water from the compound middle lamellae into the secondary wall under the combined driving forces of a concentration difference and steam pressure. These findings provide a way to enhance the mechanical properties of HTW while gaining better hydrophobicity.
Funding source: National Natural Science Foundation of China
Award Identifier / Grant number: 31400498
-
Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
-
Research funding: None declared.
-
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.
References
Bjurhager, I., Olsson, A.-M., Zhang, B., Gerber, L., Kumar, M., Berglund, L.A., Burgert, I., Sundberg, B., and Salmén, L. (2010). Ultrastructure and mechanical properties of populus wood with reduced lignin content caused by transgenic down-regulation of cinnamate 4-hydroxylase. Biomacromolecules 11: 2359–2365. https://doi.org/10.1021/bm100487e.Search in Google Scholar
Candelier, K., Thevenon, M.-F., Petrissans, A., Dumarcay, S., Gerardin, P., and Petrissans, M. (2016). Control of wood thermal treatment and its effects on decay resistance: a review. Ann. For. Sci. 73: 571–583. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-016-0541-x.Search in Google Scholar
Čermák, P., Hess, D., and Suchomelová, P. (2021). Mass loss kinetics of thermally modified wood species as a time–temperature function. Eur. J. For. Wood Prod. 79: 547–555.10.1007/s00107-020-01634-6Search in Google Scholar
Chu, D., Mu, J., Zhang, L., and Li, Y. (2017). Promotion effect of NP fire retardant pre-treatment on heat-treated poplar wood. Part 2: hygroscopicity, leaching resistance, and thermal stability. Holzforschung 71: 217–223. https://doi.org/10.1515/hf-2016-0213.Search in Google Scholar
Churkina, G., Organschi, A., Reyer, C.P.O., Ruff, A., Vinke, K., Liu, Z., Reck, B.K., Graedel, T.E., and Schellnhuber, H.J. (2020). Buildings as a global carbon sink. Nat. Sustain. 3: 269–276. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0462-4.Search in Google Scholar
Donohoe, B.S., Decker, S.R., Tucker, M.P., Himmel, M.E., and Vinzant, T.B. (2008). Visualizing lignin coalescence and migration through maize cell walls following thermochemical pretreatment. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 101: 913–925. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.21959.Search in Google Scholar
Endo, K., Obataya, E., Zeniya, N., and Matsuo, M. (2016). Effects of heating humidity on the physical properties of hydrothermally treated spruce wood. Wood Sci. Technol. 50: 1161–1179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-016-0822-4.Search in Google Scholar
Esteves, B., Marques, A.V., Domingos, I., and Pereira, H. (2006). Influence of steam heating on the properties of pine (Pinus pinaster) and eucalypt (Eucalyptus globulus) wood. Wood Sci. Technol. 41: 193–207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-006-0099-0.Search in Google Scholar
Felhofer, M., Bock, P., Singh, A., Prats-Mateu, B., Zirbs, R., and Gierlinger, N. (2020). Wood deformation leads to rearrangement of molecules at the nanoscale. Nano Lett. 20: 2647–2653. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c00205.Search in Google Scholar
Gümüskaya, E., Usta, M., and Kirci, H. (2003). The effects of various pulping conditions on crystalline structure of cellulose in cotton linters. Polym. Degrad. Stabil. 81: 559–564.10.1016/S0141-3910(03)00157-5Search in Google Scholar
Gusenbauer, C., Jakob, D.S., Xu, X.G., Vezenov, D.V., Cabane, É., and Konnerth, J. (2020). Nanoscale chemical features of the natural fibrous material wood. Biomacromolecules 21: 4244–4252. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.0c01028.Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Hill, C.A. (2007). Wood modification: chemical, thermal and other processes. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.Search in Google Scholar
Huang, Y., Fei, B., Wei, P., and Zhao, C. (2016). Mechanical properties of bamboo fiber cell walls during the culm development by nanoindentation. Ind. Crop. Prod. 92: 102–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.07.037.Search in Google Scholar
Kang, X., Kirui, A., Dickwella Widanage, M.C., Mentink-Vigier, F., Cosgrove, D.J., and Wang, T. (2019). Lignin-polysaccharide interactions in plant secondary cell walls revealed by solid-state NMR. Nat. Commun. 10: 347. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-08252-0.Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Kim, J.-Y., Hwang, H., Oh, S., Kim, Y.-S., Kim, U.-J., and Choi, J.W. (2014). Investigation of structural modification and thermal characteristics of lignin after heat treatment. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 66: 57–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2014.02.013.Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Kutnar, A. and Kamke, F.A. (2012). Influence of temperature and steam environment on set recovery of compressive deformation of wood. Wood Sci. Technol. 46: 953–964. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-011-0456-5.Search in Google Scholar
Li, B., Lv, W., Zhang, Q., Wang, T., and Ma, L. (2014). Pyrolysis and catalytic pyrolysis of industrial lignins by TG-FTIR: kinetics and products. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis 108: 295–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2014.04.002.Search in Google Scholar
Melelli, A., Arnould, O., Beaugrand, J., and Bourmaud, A. (2020). The middle lamella of plant fibers used as composite reinforcement: investigation by atomic force microscopy. Molecules 25: 632. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25030632.Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Nishiyama, Y., Langan, P., and Chanzy, H. (2002). Crystal structure and hydrogen-bonding system in cellulose Iβ from synchrotron X-ray and neutron fiber diffraction. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 124: 9074–9082. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja0257319.Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Özgenç, Ö., Durmaz, S., Boyaci, I.H., and Eksi-Kocak, H. (2017). Determination of chemical changes in heat-treated wood using ATR-FTIR and FT Raman spectrometry. Spectrochim. Acta Mol. Biomol. Spectrosc. 171: 395–400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2016.08.026.Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Poletto, M., Pistor, V., Zeni, M., and Zattera, A.J. (2011). Crystalline properties and decomposition kinetics of cellulose fibers in wood pulp obtained by two pulping processes. Polym. Degrad. Stabil. 96: 679–685. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2010.12.007.Search in Google Scholar
Poletto, M., Ornaghi, H.L., and Zattera, A.J. (2014). Native cellulose: structure, characterization and thermal properties. Materials 7: 6105–6119. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma7096105.Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Popescu, M.-C., Popescu, C.-M., Lisa, G., and Sakata, Y. (2011). Evaluation of morphological and chemical aspects of different wood species by spectroscopy and thermal methods. J. Mol. Struct. 988: 65–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2010.12.004.Search in Google Scholar
Ramage, M.H., Burridge, H., Busse-Wicher, M., Fereday, G., Reynolds, T., Shah, D.U., Wu, G., Yu, L., Fleming, P., Densley-Tingley, D., et al. (2017). The wood from the trees: the use of timber in construction. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 68: 333–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.09.107.Search in Google Scholar
Salmén, L. (1984). Viscoelastic properties ofin situ lignin under water-saturated conditions. J. Mater. Sci. 19: 3090–3096.10.1007/BF01026988Search in Google Scholar
Salmén, L., Stevanic, J.S., and Olsson, A.M. (2016). Contribution of lignin to the strength properties in wood fibres studied by dynamic FTIR spectroscopy and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Holzforschung 70: 1155–1163.10.1515/hf-2016-0050Search in Google Scholar
Selig, M.J., Viamajala, S., Decker, S.R., Tucker, M.P., Himmel, M.E., and Vinzant, T.B. (2007). Deposition of lignin droplets produced during dilute acid pretreatment of maize stems retards enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. Biotechnol. Prog. 23: 1333–1339. https://doi.org/10.1021/bp0702018.Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Tartar, H.V. and Garretson, H.H. (1941). The thermodynamic ionization constants of sulfurous acid at 25 °C. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 63: 808–816. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja01848a049.Search in Google Scholar
Terrett, O.M., Lyczakowski, J.J., Yu, L., Iuga, D., Franks, W.T., Brown, S.P., Dupree, R., and Dupree, P. (2019). Molecular architecture of softwood revealed by solid-state NMR. Nat. Commun. 10: 4978. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12979-9.Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Wada, M., Okano, T., and Sugiyama, J. (2001). Allomorphs of native crystalline cellulose I evaluated by two equatorial d-spacings. J. Wood Sci. 47: 124–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00780560.Search in Google Scholar
Yang, H., Yan, R., Chen, H., Lee, D.H., and Zheng, C. (2007). Characteristics of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin pyrolysis. Fuel 86: 1781–1788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2006.12.013.Search in Google Scholar
Yildiz, S., Gezer, E.D., and Yildiz, U.C. (2006). Mechanical and chemical behavior of spruce wood modified by heat. Build. Environ. 41: 1762–1766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2005.07.017.Search in Google Scholar
© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
