Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine how varying the inputted surface area value of wood samples would affect the determination of kiln-drying schedules using the drastic drying test. For this purpose, eight individuals of two Eucalyptus clones were selected. Specimens were obtained for drastic drying tests at 100 °C, to measure the basic density and to determine the initial moisture content. The initial and final temperatures and the drying potential were calculated in 100 mm × 50 mm × 10 mm samples, considering the surface area to be 130 cm² (Updated Method), in contrast to the surface area of 100 cm² that is commonly used in the method known as the Standard Method. Based on these findings, kiln-drying schedules were set for the lumber from each clone. Although the significant differences aforementioned, it was observed that the drying schedules developed by Standard Method and Updated Method are similar.

ABSTRACT Activated carbons (AC) are high porosity and adsorptive carbonaceous materials. These adsorbents can be produced using different organic materials. Precursor material properties may impact their quality. This study aimed to produce activated carbon from Tectona grandis wood wastes, besides determining efficiency in adsorption of different pollutants. Chemical activation, with ZnCl2 (AC_ZnCl2) and CuSO4 (AC_CuSO4), and physical activation, with CO2 (AC_CO2) were performed. Activated carbons were characterized by FTIR, surface functional groups (Boehm) and surface area analysis. Moreover, ACs were tested regarding adsorption capacity of methylene blue (MB), phenol and Cr+6 ions in aqueous medium. Higher total pore volume (0.62 cm³ g-¹), micropore volume (0.31 cm³ g-¹) and surface area (524.50 m² g-¹) were obtained in AC_ZnCl2, which was also the most effective in MB and phenol adsorption. AC_CuSO4 obtained high adsorption capacity for phenol and presented functional groups different from the other AC. AC_CO2 was the second with better adsorption performance for all pollutants.

ABSTRACT Currently, there is a little and sparse information about how the growing conditions influence the spatial variation of wood along the stem. Thus, the aim of this study was to compile the knowledge from literature in a manuscript for better understanding to what extent the growing conditions influence the spatial variation of wood properties in Eucalyptus plantations. The wood characteristics may present variations in their properties and can be caused by both genetic and environmental factors. However, how genetic and environmental factor acts on wood variation along the trunk is still unclear. Another point is that even with new genetic breeding programs, the mechanical properties of wood have not been considered in these programs, since the selection of new material is always based on the growing rate, cellulose and lignin content and wood density.

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the behavior of samples of juvenile and mature Eucalyptus cloeziana wood when subjected to the drying process, and the influence of the anatomy on that behavior. In order to do this, saturated specimens from this woods measuring 10 × 5 × 1 cm were subjected to drastic drying at 100 °C, where the drying rates and the end check scores in different steps of the process were obtained. The fibers and vessels morphology, initial moisture and basic density were analyzed to help understanding the data obtained in the drying test. The juvenile wood presented 26% higher drying rate and 21% smaller drying time, also 53% higher end check score. Smaller fibers length and fibers wall thickness, higher vessels frequency and smaller vessels diameter were associated with higher total drying rate and water adsorption, as well as with the higher end check score.

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to establish the correlation between the size of the wood knots and the modulus of elasticity (MOE) and the compressive strength (Fc) in Eucalyptus wood. 156 Eucalyptus urophylla samples with knots were separated into 3 classes (small, medium and large knots), and samples were selected from the same tree and submitted to the parallel fiber compression test for MOE and Fc determination. There was a significant difference between the MOE and Fc of the smaller knot class (Class 1) and the other classes with larger knots (Classes 2 and 3). In general, the larger the knot, the greater the difference between the MOE and Fc. Wood with small knots (8.31 mm2) presents stiffness and strength statistically equal to wood free of defects. Eucalyptus wood stiffness is more sensitive to the presence of knots than the strength when compared to clear wood samples.