B uilding outdoor structures such as decks, docks, and playgrounds often signifies the pursuit of a more healthful lifestyle, but the wood used in much of this construction poses potential environmental and health problems when these structures are demolished. The chemicals that preserve the wood, primarily the inorganic waterborne preservative chro-mated copper arsenate (CCA), are designed to ...

Fast growing hybrid poplar trees are being plantation grown in the Pacific northwest of the United States and British Columbia for the production of chips for pulp. If allowed to grow somewhat longer (to a rotation age of 9-10 years) and achieve saw log size, the basal log(s) might be used to produce lumber for solid wood products with the remaining stem volume chipped. Solid wood product manuf...

Depolymerization of lignin in wood with hydrogen iodide in a nonpolar solvent is a selective, high-yield reaction that releases a diiodide of potential synthetic value into the solution. Finely milled wood (Douglas-fir, spruce, aspen, and sugarcane), was suspended in CDCl3 and treated with dry hydrogen iodide in a NMR tube. The yields and composition of the chloroform-soluble monomeric lignin d...

The extraction of hemicelluloses prior to pulping is an attractive process to be incorporated in the pulp and paper mills to generate valuable by-products such as xylose and xylo-oligomers in addition to core products. This paper investigates the impact of xylan extraction by dilute acid on cooking conditions, pulp yield and properties during kraft and soda-AQ pulping of Eucalyptus grandis wood...

Substantial quantities of senile coconut palms are present in plantations within the Asia-Pacific region. Once coconut palms become over-mature, their production of traditional products, such as coconuts, significantly decreases, resulting in profitability challenges for farmers. Presently, few profitable markets exist for over-mature, senile coconut palms. Using the coconut palm stem in compos...

Wood Cement Composites – Suitability of Western Australian mallee eucalypts, blue gum and melaleucas The views expressed and the conclusions reached in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of persons consulted. RIRDC shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever to any person who relies in whole or in part on the contents of this report. In submitting this report,...

A simplified procedure for the identification and measurement of single-ring aromatic products of lignin acidolysis is described. The procedure employed a 6-h hydrolysis of spruce milled wood lignin in acidic dioxane at 87 degrees C, followed by a series of organic extractions to recover acidolysis products which were quantified by gas chromatography of trimethylsilyl derivatives. Complex gel p...

BACKGROUND Worldwide there is growing research interest in the ethnobiology of mangrove forests. Notwithstanding that, little information has been published about ethnobiology of mangrove forests in Cameroon. The aims of this study were a) to analyze the harvesting methods and the local selling of mangrove wood products by loggers in the vicinity of Wouri estuary and b) to investigate the patte...

Lignin model compounds, synthetic lignins, and cedar wood have been analyzed by pyrolysis-gas chromatography(-mass spectrometry) in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) to examine the behavior of beta-5 substructures specifically under these conditions. Two model compounds contained a beta-5 linkage and a gamma-CH2OH group. The phenolic model compound produced stilbene products ...