Wood anatomy and charcoal quality of Piptadenia gonoacantha

Abstract

Due to the lack of information about wood properties and charcoal quality from native species, this work was carried out aiming at to characterize the wood anatomical structure of Piptadenia gonoacantha and determine the yield and properties of charcoal. The wood anatomy was described, and it was determined the fibers and vessels dimensions, basic density and higher heating value (HHV). Bulk density, chemical analysis, and HHV were determined for charcoal. The average vessel diameter was 121.30 μm, with 15 vessels mm^-2. The fiber dimensions were: length, 0.82 mm, width, 17.54 μm, lumen diameter, 8.02 μm, wall thickness, 4.76 μm, and wall fraction of 54.28%. The basic wood density was 590 kg m^-³ and HHV was 4650 kcal kg^-1. The charcoal yield was 37.10%. The content of volatile matter, ash and fixed carbon were 23.26%, 2.39% and 74.35%, respectively. Charcoal HHV was 7.719.27 kcal kg^-1 and bulk density was 460 kgm^-³. Wood showed satisfactory quality for charcoal production, and this meets the requirements of the steel industry.