Beech wood discoloration induced with specific modes of thermal treatment

This work´s study subject is beech wood surface discoloration induced by thermal treatment and by thermo-hydro-mechanical treatment. In the first case, the test specimens were exposed to a 3h heat treatment at temperatures of 160, 180 and 200 °C. In the second experiment, the specimens were pressed (thermo-hydro-mechanical treatment) under various pressing conditions. There was investigated the influence of several pressing parameters (initial moisture content in specimens, pressing time and temperature, compression degree) on wood discoloration. The two treatments caused significant shifts in the colour coordinatesL*, a*, b* with increasing temperature and prolonged treatment time:the lightness decreased significantly, with the a*coordinate shifting to red and the coordinate b* to yellow. These shifts were also reflected in the total colour difference E. The discoloration of the beech wood surface was dependent on the heat energy amount and on its supplying mode, and also close associated with absorbance capacity of the main wood components and with variations in the chemistry of these components.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MEiN, umowa nr SONP/SP/546092/2022 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2022-2023).