The Influence of Drying Temperature on Color Change of Hornbeam and Maple Wood Used as Surface and Inner Layers of Wood Composites

Ivan Klement,Jacek Barański,Daniel Chuchala,Aleksandra Suchta,Peter Vilkovský,Tatiana Vilkovská,Kazimierz A Orłowski

doi:10.3390/app112210673

Ivan Klement, Jacek Barański + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/app112210673

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Abstract

The thermal treatment of wood changes its structure due to the degradation of wood polymers (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin), so the physical properties of wood are either improved or degraded. Color changes apply not only to natural wood, but also to such wood composites for which some amount of glue is used in their construction (e.g., plywood, blockboard or laminboard). This article is focused on the analysis of hornbeam and field maple wood color changes influenced by drying temperature. Two types of drying modes were used: hot-air mode where the temperature of the drying environment was 60 °C, and high-temperature mode with a drying temperature of 120 °C. The drying mode was divided into two phases depending on the moisture content of the wood. The compared woods had similar values of color coordinates at the beginning of drying. During hot-air drying, the largest changes in color coordinates occurred during the first 24 h. The total color difference between the color at the end and the beginning of drying was 7.3 for hornbeam and 11.1 for maple. The overall color difference between the compared woods was minimal. During high-temperature drying (120 °C), the color changes of the dried woods were more pronounced. In the case of maple wood, there was a very significant change in color and the value of ΔE* was twice as high as for hornbeam. The total color difference between the color at the end and at the beginning of drying was 8.7 for hornbeam and 18.9 for maple.

Highlights

The drying conditions and structure of wood can substantially affect the intensity of color change
The color of wood is primarily determined by the chemical compounds cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin, as well as extractives [6,7]
Two wood species were used for experimental measurements: hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) and maple (Acer campestre L.) from forests belonging to the University Forest

Summary

Introduction

The drying conditions and structure of wood can substantially affect the intensity of color change. It is generally accepted that color changes increase as temperature increases. Color, including texture and gloss, is one of the most important esthetic attributes of wood, and distinctively influences its commercial value [3,4]. Color varies widely across wood species and is primarily determined by the amount and chemical composition of the prevalent extractives [5]. The discoloration of wood due to kiln drying for set drying conditions is a remarkable problem and can affect the intensity of color change. The color of wood is primarily determined by the chemical compounds cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin, as well as extractives [6,7]

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