Comparison of methodologies for determining the carbon content in wood

Abstract

New procedures seek to subsidize studies on biomass and carbon in forests and wood, mainly of tropical species. Thus, the work aimed to compare four methods of carbon determination in wood. A pre-dried sample of tropical wood was prepared and previously ground. In this sample, the carbon content was determined, applying four different methodologies, namely: conversion of organic matter, volumetric method, colorimetric method and dry combustion (LECO). The Tukey test was performed to determine the difference between the carbon levels obtained by each method. As a result, all methods differed statistically from each other: the colorimetric method underestimated the levels of organic carbon in a tropical wood; although widely used, the volumetric method has become obsolete; and the organic matter conversion method requires specific conversion factors for each material. So, from the environmental point of view and accuracy in obtaining data, the dry combustion method, in addition to being the closest to the standard, is also the one that generates less waste, being the most suitable to determinate carbon in wood.