Moisture Sorption Isotherms and Isosteric Heats of Sorption of High-Pressure Treated Paulownia Wood under Different Storage Conditions

Abstract

Abstract. Understanding of moisture sorption isotherms (MSI) is critical for predicting the stability of wood during handling, transport, and storage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the adsorption and desorption isotherm characteristics of high-pressure (HP) treated paulownia wood and to identify the best-fitting model to describe its sorption behavior. The equilibrium moisture contents (EMCs) of HP-treated paulownia wood were obtained using a static gravimetric method under different storage conditions: three temperatures (20°C, 30°C, and 40°C) and five water activity (aw) levels (0.32 to 0.95). Results showed that HP parameters did not significantly affect the MSI trend of treated groups. Eight modified models (modified Chung-Pfost, modified Henderson, modified Oswin, modified Halsey, Chen-Clayton, Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB), simply modified GAB, and Peleg) were fitted to the experimental data. The Chen-Clayton model (temperature-dependent) produced randomized residuals and the best prediction performance for both adsorption and desorption among all models. Net isosteric heat of adsorption and desorption decreased from 7.55 to 4.84 kJ mol-1 and from 18.1 to 12.2 kJ mol-1, respectively, with an increase in EMC from 7.5% to 10%. The isosteric temperature (Tß) was 352 K for adsorption and 335 K for desorption, between which all the adsorption and desorption reactions proceeded at the same rate. All thermodynamic functions were adequately characterized by a power law model. Keywords: Equilibrium moisture content, High-pressure treatment, Modeling, Moisture sorption isotherm, Paulownia wood, Temperature, Thermodynamic analysis.