Evolution of Extractive Composition During Thermal Treatment of Jack Pine

Abstract The thermal treatment of wood has many benefits such as better dimensional stability and attractive dark color and does not use toxic chemicals. The resistance against biological decay can be improved when wood is not in contact with ground. On the other hand, after thermal transformation, wood becomes more fragile. The changes of the wood properties are related to the modification of the wood composition. During the thermal treatment, the evaporation of the moisture content is not the only event. Volatile extractives are evacuated from the wood, while new products and by-products of different chemical reactions appear. The comparison of the extracts obtained from untreated and treated wood can help to identify thermo-chemical reactions, taking place during the heat treatment. This article presents the analysis by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) of polar and non-polar extracts of untreated and heat-tr...