Influence of the raw material properties on the liquefied wood chemical composition

Influence of the raw material properties on the liquefied wood chemical composition. The subject of the studies was to investigate the effect of raw material used for the liquefaction process on the liquefied wood chemical composition. Various types of post-industrial wood waste including mixed hardwood/softwood powder, bark, pine, and beech sawdust were liquefied according to the procedure previously described by the authors. The raw wood materials were characterized in terms of their fraction composition, buffer capacity, formaldehyde content and bulk density, among others. Fourier Transform Near Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-NIR) was applied for characterization of both the raw materials used for liquefaction treatment as well as of their liquefaction products. Spectra were qualitatively evaluated by means of Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results obtained indicate that all raw materials investigated can be easily discriminated before liquefaction, however after the transformation process the same products become more homogenous from the spectroscopic point of view. It was concluded therefore, that any sort of investigated wood wastes might be used as a primary material for liquefaction.