Estudo da degradação térmica da madeira de Eucalyptus através de termogravimetria e calorimetria

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the wood thermal degradation of different Eucalyptus clones by thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) by establishing their relationships with charcoal production. Six clones of Eucalyptus spp. were evaluated. Such clones were from a clonal test of a forest company. The analyses of TG/DTG and DSC were carried out in nitrogen atmosphere. The TG/DTG curves showed three bands of thermal degradation attributed to the drying of wood, cellulose and hemicelluloses degradation. A specific range of lignin degradation was not detected. DSC curves showed an endothermic peak between 50 and 100ºC, which can be attributed to water loss. The heat release started at temperatures above 275 º C, for all clones, in which two exothermic peaks were found. The thermal analysis of wood (TG / DTG and DSC) showed no significant variations among the clones. It can be concluded that by using the studied techniques, it is possible to identify the major stages of release or absorption of energy, and weight loss, which are directly related to the quality of charcoal.