Technological characteristics of two species of the genus Erisma sp. in the state of Mato Grosso

Abstract

The state of Mato Grosso has several forest species that are widely used for originating various products that are important to the state's economy. The technological characteristics allow several uses of wood, however, there are species of the same genus that have little studied properties. The objective of this work was to characterize the technological properties of cedar wood (Erisma uncinatum) and white cedar wood (Erisma bicolor). Techniques for anatomical characterization and tests for physical properties tests were employed. Drying test was performed at 100º C, obtaining the drying temperature in different ranges: T1 (5%), T2 (30%) and T3 (30 and 5%) and drying speed: V1 (5%), V2 (30%) and V3 (30 and 5%). It was observed that the cedar species presented larger dimensions for most of the evaluated anatomical elements in relation to the white cedar species. However, the anatomical arrangement for both species was similar at the microscopic level. There were significant differences between the basic densities for the species which influenced the other physical properties, specifically the retractability and drying speed. With the drying program elaborated it was noticed that there was time difference for the wood of the species to reach the moisture content in the range of the saturation point of the fibers, while for 5% of moisture content they kept the same drying time, generating differences in absolute values between species in water loss velocity between 30 and 5% moisture content.

Keywords

• tropical species. physical analysis. anatomical evaluation. drying program