Experimental determination of the diffusion of monovalent cation into wood: Effects of temperature and impregnation time on concentration profiles

Other conference contribution, 2013

A thorough understanding of the key phenomena that take place during the chemical transport of reactants into a wood matrix is critical for the success of today’s chemical pulp mills as well as future biorefinery operations. In the present article, our previous experimental methodology has been further developed to minimise the effect of the micro-cracks present in wood pieces. The effects of temperature and impregnation time on local concentration profiles in Norway spruce wood were investigated using LiCl as a tracer substance. The concentrations of Li+ ion were found to be higher in the eluate of slices taken from the outer most surface layers of an impregnated wood piece than in the bulk solution. This phenomenon varied as a function of temperature and treatment time and between Sap- and Heartwood. The method gave reasonable results, but defects in the wood pieces (micro-cracks) still exist and were detectable.