Chemistry and kraft pulping of seven hybrid aspen clones. Dimension measurements on the vessels and UMSP of the cell walls

Abstract

Micropropagated hybrid aspen clones (Populus tremuloides Michx.×Populus tremula L.) and a plus-tree (superior phenotypes selected) aspen (Populus tremula L.) were grown under similar conditions in the central part of Latvia. After cutting at the age of 12 years, 64 sample trees were examined. The dimensions of the vessels and the content of cellulose, lignin, extractives and ash were determined. The cell walls were characterised by UV microspectrophotometry (UMSP) in the UV range. The dimensions of fibres obtained by kraft pulping were determined such as length, width, and their shape factors. Coarseness measurements were performed, and strength properties of the handsheets were tested. One of the clones (no. 44) had a significantly higher stem volume of 208 dm3 and stem diameter of 17 cm at a height of 1.3 m. This clone had otherwise no notable differences to the other clones concerning the chemical composition, except a slightly higher lignin content (20.0% as compared with the mean value of 19.3% for other clones). Kraft cooking of hybrid aspen chips gave pulp yields in the range of 48.6–52.4%. Slightly higher strength properties (10–15%) were found for the handsheets prepared from a common aspen pulp (reference) as compared with those from hybrid aspen fibres.

How clonal differences and within-tree heterogeneity affect pore properties of hybrid aspen wood and biochar?

“…5). The fiber characteristics were qualitatively similar to those found in previous studies [42,46]. Also DeBell et al [46] showed an increasing trend in fiber lengths from pith to bark.…”

“…However, clearly speciesspecific factors such as a different ratio of cell wall thickness to diameter influenced the differences, since the wall thicknesses were around 1-2 μm in the study of Werdin et al [14], while they were around 6 μm in the current study. On the other hand, wood density is largely controlled by cell wall thicknesses and diameters within different species [14,[42][43][44][45].…”

Chemical composition and fiber properties of fast-growing species in Latvia and its potential for forest bioindustry

“…The planting design of this experiment was: block plots for 25 trees (block size 5 × 5 plants), planted by 3 × 3 m in 3 to 5 replications. Seven aspen hybrid clones (Sable et al, 2013b) -eight sample trees for each clone -were selected for this study. Aspen and hybrid aspen were cut at the age of 19-20 years.…”

“…In recent years, it has been investigated also from the chemical composition point of view -as a source of different lignins and their derivatives (Kim et al, 2013); thermal decomposition of poplar wood was studied with the aim to convert solid biomass mainly into a liquid product known as bio-oil (Dong et al, 2012). Aspen and hybrid aspen wood and fi bres were studied as a source for the pulp and paper industry both in Latvia (Sable et al, 2012b(Sable et al, , 2013a(Sable et al, , 2013bTreimanis et al, 2006;Zeps et al, 2008Zeps et al, , 2012 and other countries (Francis et al, 2006;Tullus et al, 2011).…”

Morphological and Physiological Responses of Hybrid Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx. × Populus tremula L.) Clones to Light In Vitro

“…Under temperate and hemiboreal conditions, hybrid aspen ( Populus tremula L. × P. tremuloides Michx. ), which shows superior growth compared to local and introduced tree species [ 3 ] is one of the most promising alternatives for multipurpose commercial forestry, providing services from timber production to bioremediation [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The superiority of the hybrids can be stable across different growing condition because of heterosis [ 7 , 8 ], which interactively amplifies the expression of certain traits exceeding those of parental plants [ 9 ].…”