Influence of the wood physical properties on the charcoal physical and mechanical properties

Abstract

The quality of charcoal is strongly dependent upon the characteristics of the wood from which it originated. In Brazil, the world's largest charcoal producer, this aspect has received special attention to increase the industrial productivity. The present study aimed to analyze the correlation that exists between some physical characteristics of wood and some physical and mechanical properties of the charcoal. Eight clones of Eucalyptus and two clones of Corymbia were studied. Discs from the trunk of the trees were collected to determine the specific gravity, humidity and linear and volumetric shrinkage of wood. After that, the samples were carbonized under specified laboratory conditions and the generated charcoal was analyzed regarding its apparent density, resistance in compression parallel to the grain and linear and volumetric degradation due to the action of temperature. To evaluate jointly the charcoal and wood proprieties, the multivariate technique of canonical correlation was used. It was concluded that specific mass and wood humidity are the most important correlation factors with the charcoal properties under study.