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Bending properties and cell wall structure of alkali-treated wood

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Abstract

Bending tests and X-ray diffraction studies were conducted on oven-dried wood samples (Picea jezoensis Carr.) treated with various concentrations of aqueous NaOH solution to investigate the influence of alkali treatment on the longitudinal contraction, bending properties, and cellulose structure. The length of the wood samples decreased and the density increased at NaOH concentrations greater than 10%. The Young’s modulus and the specific Young’s modulus decreased and the strain at yield increased for the same concentration range. However, the stress at yield was almost constant for all concentration ranges. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that lattice transformation from cellulose I to cellulose II did not occur during alkali treatment and the crystallinity index decreased at NaOH concentrations greater than 10%. The crystallinity index was linearly correlated with the changes in longitudinal contraction and the bending properties, which indicates that the increase in the proportion of amorphous components of the cellulose influences the longitudinal contraction and the bending properties of wood samples during alkali treatment.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. M. Nogi (Kyoto University), Dr. A. N. Nakagaito (Kyoto University), and Dr. S. Ifuku (Tottori University) for their assistance with this experiment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hokkaido Forest Products Research Institute, Nishikagura 1–19, Asahikawa, 071-0198, Japan

    Yukiko Ishikura

  2. Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto, 611-0011, Japan

    Kentaro Abe & Hiroyuki Yano

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  1. Yukiko Ishikura
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  2. Kentaro Abe
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  3. Hiroyuki Yano
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Correspondence to Yukiko Ishikura.

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Ishikura, Y., Abe, K. & Yano, H. Bending properties and cell wall structure of alkali-treated wood. Cellulose 17, 47–55 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-009-9360-7

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