Abstract
The strong dependence on wood from species like Eucalyptus and Pinus genus, associated to the search for products of different qualities, led to studies about alternative wood for industrial use, mainly about species from the Caatinga biome and which is understudied for forest purposes. The aim of this study was to characterize chemically the wood from the species Pterogyne nitens and analyze its potential for pulp production. Three representative trees of 9 years old were harvested in an experimental plantation located in the southwest of Bahia state, the University of Vitória da Conquista Campus, and sampled five short logs at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the commercial height. Logs were transformed in chips and homogenized to obtain a representative composed sample for the total chemical analysis (cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, extractives and ashes content) and Kraft pulping (five cooking using different effective alkali loads to establish Kappa number 18). Pterogyne nitens wood basic density was 641 kg/m3, its chemical composition showed contents of cellulose (41.9%), hemicelluloses (24.7%), lignin (26.5%), extractives (7.3%) and ashes (0.5%). Pulping yield at Kappa number 18 was 46.4% and viscosity 1075 dm3/kg. The species did not suggest as an interesting alternative for pulp production (low cellulose content and screened yield), but very promising for application in the biomass energy area.
Keywords:
Cellulose; Caatinga biome; Wood quality; Kraft process
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Fonte: Autores (2019).