Dae-Young Kim, Yoshiharu Nishiyama, Masahisa Wada, Shigenori Kuga, Takeshi Okano
Thermal Decomposition of Cellulose Crystallites in Wood
Summary
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.
Holzforschung, Walter de Gruyter
Print ISSN: 0018-3830
Volume: 55, 09/2001
Pages: 521 - 524
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