Study of moso bamboo’s permeability and mechanical properties

Abstract

In this article, moso bamboo blocks were first treated with hydrochloric acid solvents with different concentrations or microwave treatments with various microwave output power and treatment durations. The results showed that the crystalliferous region of cellulose of moso bamboo blocks formed porous or swelling type structures under hydrochloric acid pretreatment conditions; the mechanical strength of the moso bamboo decreased when the percentage of hydrochloric acid pretreatment solvents increased from 0 to 3%. When the moso bamboo blocks were treated with microwave, the internal water was transformed into steam, and the water vapor destroyed the cell walls of the vessel, sieve tube, and parenchyma cells in the moso bamboo block, resulting in a significant improvement in the permeability of moso bamboo. In order to ensure that the moso bamboo samples did not burn by microwave heating, the samples had to be immersed in water. The process of water gasification inside the Moso bamboo was not violent. Therefore, the mechanical strength of the moso bamboo had decreased only slightly, and a weak relationship was found between the mechanical strength of the moso bamboo samples and the microwave treatment durations.