Structural changes in wood during ozonation

Abstract

It is found that ozone treatment of aspen wood leads to changes in its structural characteristics, i.e., its specific surface area and the crystallinity index of cellulose. Using optical microscopy, it is shown that ozonation is accompanied by a decrease in the average size and visible surface of wood particles. The values for the specific area of the outer surface of samples are calculated. The specific surface area available to the enzyme molecules is determined from data on the adsorption of inert protein hemoglobin on wood. It is shown that this value is an order of magnitude higher than that of the outer surface and increases considerably for an ozonized sample. Based on the results from X-ray analysis, it is established that the structure of cellulose is disordered during ozone delignification, as is indicated by a reduction in the crystallinity index and crystallite sizes.