Kinetic Aspects of Wood Hydration and Dehydration

Abstract:

Experimental studies of some physical properties of paulownia wood and identifies differences in comparison with other popular species are presented. In particular, the regularities of hydration and dehydration processes were investigated. Based on the results obtained, reliable data on the hygroscopic properties of paulownia were obtained for the first time. It was found that the hydration rapidity of paulownia (V_pl = 1.493) exceeds the similar rate of pine (V_pn = 1.1313) at a temperature of 20 °C. Changing the temperature of the liquid in which the wood is modified leads to an increase in the impregnation rapidity and, therefore, increases the productivity of the process. The dehydration rapidity of both species is almost the same (k = –0.002), which allows them to be dried simultaneously in the same chamber, optimizing production logistics. The dependence of liquid absorption on concentration was investigated. It has been found that a higher concentration outside causes a greater diffusion flux into the sample, while a higher concentration inside leads to a decrease in the sample weight. During the hydration stage, the weight of paulownia samples increased by 4 times, and pine samples – by 2.5 times. A two-stage kinetic model of wood hydration has been developed, which adequately describes the dynamics of the process. The resulting S-shaped curve clearly characterizes the features of the kinetics processes with saturation. Verification showed a high correlation – 85 % – for hydration and over 90 % for dehydration, which allows for accurate modeling and prediction of the technological processes of wood impregnation and drying.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 1164)
• Pages: 163-177
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-Kdlm1H
• Online since: November 2025
• Authors: Sergiy Kulman, Oleksandra Horbachova*, Anatolii Vyshnevskyi, Serhii Mazurchuk
• Keywords: Dehydration, Hydration, Impregnation Rapidity, Kinetic Model, Liquid Concentration, Paulownia, Wood

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