Abstract
Water exists in lignocellulosic materials throughout the whole process from the plant growth to raw materials processing and utilization. The fiber saturation point (FSP) is the inflection point of the physical and mechanical properties of lignocellulosic materials and has an important influence on their physical and mechanical properties. This paper investigates the FSP of Calamus simplicifolius by the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) method and two conventional methods including the saturated salt solution method and dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) method. The average FSP values determined by the LF-NMR method, the saturated salt solution method and the DVS method are 38.15%, 32.54% and 28.96%, respectively. The study showed that the FSP values determined by the LF-NMR method were higher than those determined by the two conventional methods. The two conventional methods are simple and cost-effective and are able to directly measure whether the rattan properties are changing with moisture content. From the thermodynamics standpoint, even within the ideal solution limit, free water is present at relative humidity (RH) of less than 100%. Therefore, extrapolation to 100% RH was not strictly correct. The amount of water in rattan in different states could be quantified by the LF-NMR method, and the FSP value was determined by the ratio of the measurements above and below the water melting point. Furthermore, the LF-NMR method is faster and non-destructive compared to the two conventional methods.
Highlights
Wood is a porous hygroscopic material where moisture exchanges freely depending on the environmental conditions to which it is exposed (Walker 2006; Zelinka et al 2016)
This paper investigates the fiber saturation point (FSP) of Calamus simplicifolius by the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) method and two conventional methods including the saturated salt solution method and dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) method
Even within the ideal solution limit, free water is present at relative humidity (RH) of less than 100%
Summary
Wood is a porous hygroscopic material where moisture exchanges freely depending on the environmental conditions to which it is exposed (Walker 2006; Zelinka et al 2016). The fiber saturation point (FSP) is primarily used to distinguish these forms of water. Siau (1995) paraphrased Tiemann’s definition of FSP as the moisture content at which all the free water was removed, but its cell wall was saturated throughout. Zelinka et al (2016) provided an explicit definition of FSP from the perspective of the solution thermodynamics as the chemical potential of bound water equal to the chemical potential of free water. This definition endows the concept of FSP with an explicit physical meaning and provides a scientific evaluation system for the study of the wood–water relationship
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