Wood and charcoal quality from planted forest in Minas Gerais State, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the wood and charcoal quality of young Eucalyptus spp. trees, and to verify the influence of age and clone on the energy performance of these fuels. It was sampled the clones 1277 and 0321 of Eucalyptus spp. in two ages (46 and 58 months). The characteristics determined in the wood were: chemical molecular and elementary, basic density, carbon stocks and lignin by volume, the energy density and heating values (higher and lower). The charcoal was produced in an electric furnace (muffle) with the final temperature of 450 °C. It was conducted the mass balance and carbonization energy, beyond the immediate evaluation of the chemical composition, apparent density and calorific value of charcoal. The clone 1277, at the age 58 months, is the most suitable for the charcoal production for steel industry and direct combustion of wood, because it showed better results for basic density, energy density, carbon stocks and lignin per unit volume and the lignin content of the wood. The clonal effect and age did not influence the content of fixed carbon and volatile materials, the calorific values, the gravimetric yield in charcoal and energy losses of carbonization.