Abstract
Albasia (Albizia falcataria), known as sengon wood, is a fast-growing tree species commonly found in Indonesian forests and community plantations. However, the low-density, hardness, and strength significantly restrict its commercial application. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of densification on the physical properties of Albizia falcataria under high-temperature and -pressure. Different temperatures were applied to the Albizia falcataria board (100 °C, 120 °C, 140 °C, sandwich 140 °C). The densification process influences the density properties, color changes, thickness, compression ratio, equilibrium moisture content, and anatomical properties of the material. With this procedure, the density can be increased to 0.62 kg/L, a gain of approximately 112.78% over untreated wood. The density of wood increases, resulting in the decomposition of its chemical components, especially hemicellulose, which darkens the wood color and stabilizes equilibrium moisture control. As a result, the thermal compression modification treatment under high-temperature and -pressure is a highly effective method for enhancing the physical properties of fast-growing wood species, such as Albizia falcataria.
Highlights
Evaluating the environmental impact of material selections is becoming more important as means of addressing sustainability concerns
Hemicellulose is the first component of wood to decay, due to its lower molecular weight and branching structure, which leads to an increase in lignin concentration [40,41,42]
The analysis of variance for mass, density, thickness, and equilibrium moisture content (EMC) value is shown in Table 1, indicating that a significant difference exists, when the computed F value exceeds the F table (F count > F table) or the p value is less than 0.05 (p value 0.05)
Summary
Evaluating the environmental impact of material selections is becoming more important as means of addressing sustainability concerns. In terms of ecological advantages, utilizing wood as a construction material is one of the most effective methods to decrease carbon dioxide emissions [1], since wood material contains 50% carbon throughout its growth, collecting carbon dioxide from the air. The more wood products utilized, the more carbon is stored, mitigating the effects of global warming. Trees grow slowly, disrupting the sustainability of the existing wood availability. As a result, developing alternative wood sources is critical, one of which is fast-growing tree species [2]. Due to the plentiful availability of fast-growing tree species, they have been extensively utilized in plantations and community forests, making the sustainability of wood is more promising for the environment
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