Determination of Wood Basic Density by Fourier Transform Raman Spectroscopy
Аннотация
Abstract The feasibility of using FT-Raman spectroscopy for rapid determination of wood basic density was examined for two Eucalyptus species, including samples of various ages and colors, which are of importance as a plantation source. Wood basic density is an important indicator of wood physical properties, pulp properties and pulpwood productivity. Measurement included basic density (BD), extractives-free (EF) BD, alkali-extractives-free (AF) BD, total-extractives-free (TF) BD and extraneous compounds-free (ECF) BD were measured. The application of 2nd derivatives transformation to Raman spectroscopic data revealed highly significant correlations between measured and Raman predicted values for BD, EF-BD, AF-BD, TF-BD and ECF-BD with standard error of prediction (SEP) ≒ 8, 45, 22, 37 and 49 kg/m3 in the calibration (for known samples) and SEP ≒ 28, 38, 40, 29 and 40 kg/m3 in the prediction (for unknown samples), respectively. Consequently, this method has proved its validity for analyzing Eucalyptus native wood meal samples, regardless of their age and color, to determine basic density. FT-Raman spectroscopy can be used for (1) the measurement of physical properties of forest products, and (2) elite tree selection to improve both quality and productivity, reducing the cost of pulp and paper products and our reliance on natural forests.