Manuela Romagnoli

Wood colour in Lapacho (Tabebuia serratifolia): chemical composition and industrial implications

This study is aimed at relating the colour of Tabebuia serratifolia (Bignoniaceae family) wood to its chemical composition and technological characteristics, such as hardness and gluing, important for the manufacture of wood flooring. Samples with standard wood colour and evident chromatic anomalies were subjected to CIELAB colorimetric and gas-chromatography analyses. Red and yellow wood colour is associated with the presence of lapachol and dehydro-α-lapachone, respectively, whereas large amounts of polyphenols were found in black parts, together with other quinone compounds. Wood is hardest where lapachol gives rise to a yellow chromatic zone (L1). Delamination tests have shown that polyphenols affect lamella bonding strength. The results may be used by the wood flooring industry to identify the chemical constituents of T. serratifolia according to its colour and foresee possible problems during the production process.

Heat Treatment Effect on Lignin and Carbohydrates in Corsican Pine Earlywood and Latewood Studied by PY–GC–MS Technique

Lignin-derived degradation products from non-treated (NT) and heat-treated (T) Corsican pine (Pinus nigra subsp. laricio) obtained by pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py–GC–MS) were investigated, whereby the earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) parts of the annual ring were considered separately. The data evaluation was done by principal component analysis (PCA) and the Kruskal–Wallis test. There are no differences in the pyrolysis products composition between EW and LW, but NT and T samples were discernible by PCA applied to Py–GC–MS data. Less phenols with longer chains (4-vinylguaiacol, and trans-isoeugenol) than those with shorter chains (guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol) and an increase of anhydrosugar (AHS) were found among the pyrolysis products after heat treatment. These signs for autocondensation and side chain cleavages in the lignin during heat treatment were more evident in the EW than in the LW and for the crystallization of cellulose. A slight decrease of the carbohydrate/lignin ratio (C/L) after heat treatment indicates a greater degradation of carbohydrates compared to lignin. The relation of pyrolysis products of lignin and mechanical properties of wood was evaluated by regression analysis. An inverse correlation between short-chain phenols and MOE and a direct correlation between long-chain phenols and compression strength was found in case of NT wood, while a weak positive correlation could be observed between short-chain phenols and the density in T wood.

Isolation and characterization of lignin from beech wood and chestnut sawdust for the preparation of lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) from wood industry side-streams

Abstract Lignin was isolated through mild acidolysis from local wood sources such as beech wood and chestnut wood sawdust, a high-volume side product of wood industries. The lignin fractions were characterized by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and two-dimensional heteronuclear single-quantum correlation nuclear magnetic resonance (2D HSQC NMR) spectroscopies and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). The Klason lignin (KL) content and polysaccharide composition were determined using traditional methods. Lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) were prepared via a non-solvent method involving dialysis and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and FTIR and UV-VIS spectroscopies. Semi-porous as well as hollow nanoparticles endowed with a spherical shape were observed. The large majority of the LNPs exhibited an average particle diameter of 90–120 nm. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis showed that both distribution and frequency of dimensional classes of LNPs are clearly affected by the lignin solvent system, i.e. solvent selection governs the size distribution of LNPs.