Rapid Screening of Wood Chemical Component Variations Using Transmittance Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

A rapid transmittance near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy method was developed to predict the variation in chemical composition of solid wood. The effect of sample preparation, sample quantity (single versus stacked multiple wood wafers), and NIR acquisition time on the quantification of α-cellulose and lignin content was investigated. Strong correlations were obtained between laboratory wet chemistry values and the NIR-predicted values. In addition to the experimental protocol and method development, improvements in calibration error associated with utilizing stacked multiple wood wafers as opposed to single wood wafers are also discussed. Keywords: Loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda ); aspen (Populus trichocarpa ); transmittance near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR); increment cores; wood wafer; α-cellulose content; lignin content; screening