ABSTRACT This research aimed at evaluating the quality of bonded joints of Eucalyptus wood by using different faces and adhesives to produce EGP (Edge Glued Panels). Glue line shear specimens were obtained from bonded joints glued with PVAc (Polyvinyl Acetate) and EPI (Emulsion Polymer Isocyanate) adhesives, using pieces oriented with tangential, radial and intermediary faces, as well as the combination between them. The specimens were submitted to two pretreatments in order to simulate the use of joints in dry and wet environments. For shear tests, 12 treatments were obtained. The results indicated that the use of tangential x tangential and tangential x intermediary bonding faces and EPI adhesive presented better glue line shear strength for EGP in dry and wet pretreatments, respectively. The joints bonded in the radial x radial direction presented statistically inferior values when compared to the other treatments.

ABSTRACT The basic density is the main technical property of the wood due to the fact of the easy determination and correlation with the others wood properties. In this article, it was evaluated wood chips from a five-years-old Eucalyptus grandis in three different silvicultural treatments for pulp and paper production. First, a conventional kraft pulping was executed in the same conditions and then submitted to some elemental chlorine free (ECF) bleaching process to achieve the target brightness of 88 ± 1% ISO. The bleached pulps were refined in a Jokro Mill at 0, 2250, 4500 and 6750 revolutions and their physical, mechanical and optical properties were analyzed. The statistical analysis indicated a difference in the wood basic density from the different silvicultural treatments. The yield of the pulping process was not affected by the variation of the wood basic density. The denser wood had the advantage of a lower specific wood consumption while the disadvantage was a greater difficulty in the delignification and a decrease in the selectivity of the pulping process. The denser wood was the one with the best bleachability and the one that most consumed chlorine in the bleaching process. The increase of the wood density caused gains in the fisical and optical properties of the bleached pulp and losses in the mechanical properties.The optical properties of the pulps from denser woods are more resistant than the negative effects of mechanical properties.

ABSTRACT Wood color and properties are variables among and within species, and fast and non-destructive techniques can be applied to their characterization, being also important in wood marketing and quality control. This paper evaluated the influence of age on the discrimination of Tectona grandis L.F. (teak) wood by VIS/NIR spectroscopy. Wood from three ages, with heartwood and sapwood, were studied, totaling 36 samples per age. Quantitative colorimetric data, based on CIELAB 1976, visible and NIR infrared spectra were collected from radial and tangential surfaces in five positions of each sample, in a total of 540 spectra. Both techniques were adequate for age discrimination in teak wood. Statistical differences were observed in the chromatic coordinates in heartwood and sapwood for each age. VIS/NIR spectroscopy can be applied for age discrimination based on teak solid samples and for wood quality control.