title: Chemical alterations of pine wood saccharides during heat sterilisation.
abstract: Alterations in saccharides during heat sterilisation of pine wood (Pinus sylvestris L.) were investigated. The mass loss, extractives, lignin, cellulose, holocellulose and hemicelluloses were determined. Changes in saccharides were evaluated by the determination of monosaccharides in wood, size exclusion chromatography (SEC) as well as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. During heat sterilisation of pine wood the slight mass loss, an increase in extractives and a decrease in lignin and polysaccharides were observed. Hemicelluloses are degraded approximately twice as fast as cellulose. The degree of polymerisation of cellulose decreases approximately by 10% and it increases in holocellulose (by approx. 8%) as a result of a faster degradation of shorter hemicellulose chains. FTIR spectroscopy shows that sterilisation results in the deacetylation of cellulose and the formation of new carbonyl groups, an increase in the total crystallinity index (TCI) and a decrease in the lateral order index (LOI) and the hydrogen-bond intensity (HBI).
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 53 Zvolen, Slovakia. Electronic address: kacik@tuzvo.sk.
authors.forename: František
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kačík
authors.affiliation: Thermo Sanace, Chamrádová 475/23, 718 00 Ostrava-Kunčičky, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Šmíra
authors.affiliation: Department of Fire Protection, Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 53 Zvolen, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Danica
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kačíková
authors.affiliation: Department of Fire Protection, Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 53 Zvolen, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Veľková
authors.affiliation: Thermo Sanace, Chamrádová 475/23, 718 00 Ostrava-Kunčičky, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nasswettrová
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Descriptive Geometry, Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 53 Zvolen, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Vladimír
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vacek
keywords: Cellulose; FTIR spectroscopy; Hemicelluloses; Pine wood; Size exclusion chromatography; Thermal modification