Rum is a sugar cane spirit obtained by the distillation of molasses through yeast fermentation and subsequent aging in wooden barrels, where the spirit acquires its special flavor and aroma. Packed bed schemes were applied to the accelerated aging of rum samples. These involved maturation in contact with natural, toasted or chemically treated oak wood chips for 90 d and four secondary treatment...

Arsenic from chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood, widely used in playgrounds and other outdoor equipment, can persist as surface residues on wood. This raises concerns about possible health risks associated with children playing on CCA-treated playgrounds. In a Pilot Study, 11 children (13-71 months) in homes with and without CCA-treated playgrounds were evaluated with post-exposure ha...

In order to clarify the molecular mechanism of the reorientation of adsorbed water in wood cell wall during dielectric relaxation process, the temperature and frequency spectrums of the dielectric relaxation process based on adsorbed water in wood, acetylated wood and formaldehyde-treated wood were measured, respectively, within a range of -60-20°C, 30Hz-3MHz and 0-27%m.c. On this basis, the qu...

Methylolurea and carbamide were used to impregnate eucalyptus wood to improve its physical and chemical properties. The physical properties and dimensional stability were examined. TGA was used to evaluate the thermal stability of the wood. FTIR was used to state the changes of functional groups. The changes of wood structure were observed by SEM. The results showed the bending strength and com...

Heat treatment may result in variation of wood equilibrium moisture content (EMC). During this study, tauari (Couratari oblongifolia), ash (Fraxinus excelsior), and oak (Quercus rubra) woods were heat-treated at 190, 200, and 210oC for 3 hours and then put into a conditioning chamber with a temperature from 30 to 75oC and a relative humidity from 50 to 90%. The isothermal moisture adsorption cu...

In a biorefinery context it is an advantage to fractionate and extract different wood components in a relatively pure form. However, one major obstacle for efficient extraction of wood polymers (lignin, polysaccharides etc.) is the covalent lignin-polysaccharide networks present in lignified cell walls. Enzymatic catalysis might be a useful tool for a controlled degradation of these networks, t...

Effects were studied of 200 ppm silver and copper nano-suspensions, with size range from 20 to 80 nm, on the hardness of particleboards produced at an industrial scale at the Iran-Choob Factory, Iran. Metal nano-suspensions were added to the mat at two levels of 100 and 150 milli-liters/kg dry weight wood particles, and the results were compared with those of the control panels. Results showed ...