Summary
The thermochemical degradation of cork from Quercus suber L. was studied in the temperature range 150°C–450°C in relation to mass loss, chemical composition and the influence on the cellular structure. The degradation of cork is strongly dependent on temperature and mass losses become significant at 200°C (15% of initial dry weight) and increase rapidly for higher temperatures (27% at 250 °C, 49% at 300 °C, 62% at 350 °C) until ashing at 450 °C. The polysaccharides are the most heat sensitive components: at 200 °C, hemicelluloses disappear and cellulose is degraded to a considerable extent. Suberin is more resistant and degradation starts at approx. 250 °C; 300 °C-treated samples only contain 7% suberin.
The cellular structure of cork is also significantly influenced by temperature. Upon heating, cells expand and the cell walls stretch, attaining at 250 °C a maximum cell volume increase corresponding to a factor of approximately 2. Above 300 °C, the structure of cell walls is considerably changed and show profound physical damage; in the later stages of pyrolysis, a cellular structure is no longer observed.
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We are grateful to Mrs. Joaquina Ferreira for her help with the chemical analysis. The research was financially supported by the Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica (JNICT) and by the Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia dos Materiais (ICTM)
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Pereira, H. The thermochemical degradation of cork. Wood Sci.Technol. 26, 259–269 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00200161
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00200161