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In this study the effect of thermal treatment on the equilibrium moisture content, chemical composition and biological resistance to decay fungi of juvenile and mature Hevea brasiliensis wood (rubber wood) was evaluated. Samples were taken from a 53-year-old rubber wood plantation located in Tabapuã, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The samples were thermally-modified at 180°C, 200°C and 220°C. Results indicate that the thermal modification caused: (1) a significant increase in the extractive content and proportional increase in the lignin content at 220°C; (2) a significant decrease in the equilibrium moisture content, holocelluloses, arabinose, galactose and xylose content, but no change in glucose content; and (3) a significant increase in wood decay resistance against both Pycnoporus sanguineus (L.) Murrill and Gloeophyllum trabeum (Pers.) Murrill decay fungi. The greatest decay resistance was achieved from treatment at 220°C which resulted in a change in wood decay resistance class from moderately resistant to resistant. Finally, this study also demonstrated that the influence of thermal treatment in mature wood was lower than in juvenile wood.

In this paper, we comprehensively review the relevant literature published from 2005 to 2016, focused on lumber drying and provide a summary of where we feel future research will focus. Drying is a critical part of most wood products manufacturing process, and the methods used and proper control are key to achieving the appropriate production level, quality, and costs. While a combination of drying methods may be used, most lumber is dried in a kiln at some point in the process. The most common commercial kilns can be classified as conventional, high temperature, and vacuum; however, there continues to be some interest in solar and compression drying. While no new drying technologies have been proposed, work has continued on improving the existing methods. Control of the drying process varies with the type of kiln used, the species being dried and the temperatures used in the process; however, it usually involves some type of measurement of the moisture content of the wood being dried. The development of new methods for controlling the drying process focuses on new ways to measure moisture content or moisture content variation, temperature drop across the load, and drying stresses. While wood quality can be defined differently by its various users, for example, industrial or end users, certain aspects of quality remain constant across these groups, such as minimizing warp, checks, and splits, and discoloration, and maintaining or enhancing mechanical properties. New schedules have been proposed to increase drying rate and improve drying quality. Methods to reduce drying defects and improve its quality have focused mainly on mechanical restraint to prevent warp, better understanding of defect formation, and pre-treatments to speed up the drying process or reduce final moisture content variation. Finally, concerns regarding the environmental impacts of wood drying, most importantly the high energy demands and emissions, have increased in importance as concerns about sustainability and health issues become more mainstream.

Modifications to a pellet manufacturing process must be made based on the characteristics of raw material used. The purpose of this work was to determine the alternations required to a wood pellet manufacturing process and the quality of the pellets produced using this process from five energy crops. Quality measurements include: the caloric value, the loss of moisture content in each production stage, the efficiency index of particle-pellet, ash content and quality as defined using the quantity of cracks and the transversal density and longitudinal density determined using X-ray radiography. The crops analyzed were rhizomatous plants, with caloric values ranging between 17.1 and 20.3 MJ kg À1. This work determined that it was possible to produce pellets with Gynerium sagittatum and Phyllostachys aurea using the same production process for wood; however, Arundo donax and Pennisetum purpureum needed pre-airdrying and the Sorghum bicolor required mechanical dewatering before drying. A. donax, P. purpureum and G. sagittatum provided the highest efficiency index. When evaluating the pellet quality P. aurea and G. sagittatum hard a large quantity of cracks, unlike A. donax, P. purpureum and S. bicolor. The transversal and longitudinal pellet density varied from 1129 to 1294 kg m À3. The highest values of bulk density were obtained in A. donax and P. purpureum, followed by G. sagittatum and P. aurea, and the lowest bulk density was obtained in S. bicolor. Althogh out, some species produced cracks and high ash content, this work demonstrated that it is possible to produce pellets with moderate quality.

In this paper, we review the literature published on vacuum drying of wood. Vacuum drying is not a new technology, and its use for drying wood has been suggested since the early 1900s. Technologies for vacuum drying of wood can be classified by the heating method used. In this paper, we define vacuum-drying methods in four groups: conductive heating vacuum, cyclic vacuum, superheated steam vacuum, and dielectric vacuum. Advantages of drying wood below atmospheric pressure are the ability to dry at lower temperatures (and thus lower the probability of developing some drying defects), greatly reduced drying times, color preservation, greater energy efficiency, better control of volatile organic compound emissions, and the ability to dry very large cross sections. Some characteristics that differentiate vacuum from conventional drying are that in vacuum the primary driving force is the total pressure difference, the prevailing moisture transfer mechanism is water vapor bulk flow, and there is greater water migration in the longitudinal direction. While past research has focused on increasing the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms for vacuum drying and applications to specific industries and species, more recent efforts have concentrated on improving existing methods, for example, by improving moisture control and the use of pretreatments to improve drying quality.