Dimensional Change of Carbonized Woods at Low Temperatures

To understand transition characteristics from wood to charcoal the dimensional changes of carbonized woods at low temperature from $300^{\circ}C$ to $350^{\circ}C$ at the intervals of $10^{\circ}C$ were investigated. Three species of hardwoods and two species of softwoods were used in this study. Measurements of dimensional changes of cells were observed by stereoscopic microscope and an image analyzer. The apparent volume of each specimen decreased greatly with increasing temperature. Severe cracks and collapse were observed frequently in hardwoods and hardly in softwoods. Vessel diameter and tracheid cell wall thickness of the wood samples were decreased with increasing carbonization temperature. Contraction of vessel diameter in tangential direction was greater than that in radial direction. Cell wall thickness of tracheids decreased with increasing carbonization temperature. Consequently, even though it was small range of carbonization temperature, dimensions of wood components were changed considerably.