Red oak, sweetgum, and yellow-poplar lumber was machined into 3 by 15 by 150-mm (tangential by radial by longitudinal) miniature beams. Moisture content was determined from a subset for calculating the ovendry weight of test samples prior to treatment. Samples were weighed, water saturated, and subjected to a partial hydrolysis at 150°C for 30 minutes in 1 percent sulfuric acid, water, or 1 percent sodium hydroxide solutions. Untreated controls were also used. The beams were ovendried to a constant weight, and then the modulus of elasticity, density, and mass loss (ML) were determined. Modulus of elasticity values were corrected to eliminate density variation by calculating the specific modulus of elasticity (SM) for property comparisons. The species and treatments interacted to significantly affect SM. Sweetgum produced a lower SM in all treatments, and the water treatment consistently reduced SM. The species and treatment factors acted independently of one another with respect to ML. Sweetgum lost significantly more mass than the other species, likely because of corresponding reductions in holocellulose. An acid treatment produced the greatest ML.
Contributor Notes
The authors are, respectively, Graduate Research Assistant and Assistant Professor, Dept. of Forest Products, Mississippi State Univ., Mississippi State (temcconnell@cfr.msstate.edu, sshi@cfr.msstate.edu). The first author is presently Assistant Extension Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State Univ., Columbus. This manuscript was approved by the Forest and Wildlife Research Center, Mississippi State University, as FWRC Publication no. FP557. This paper was received for publication in February 2010. Article no. 10738.