Assessment of Sorptive Properties of Selected Tropical Wood Species

This study is primarily focused on broadening the knowledge on sorptive properties of tropical wood species. The main objective of this research was to determine the equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of 17 selected tropical wood species vital to the flooring industry in Europe. For comparison, selected European wood species – European beech, European oak and Scots pine, were also tested. Differences in the EMC between wood from temperate and tropical zones were established, resulting in the necessity of revising the knowledge, especially in wooden floor production. The results show that the EMC of tropical wood species is generally lower than that of temperate region wood species. African padouk, Teak, Afzelia and Ipe showed the lowest values of moisture content. Furthermore these wood species showed the lowest values of fibre saturation point (17.7 %, 22.5 %, 19.7 % and 18.7 %, respectively). Secondly, it was established that the basic density has significant influence on sorption properties of tested wood species. Further to the above, it was concluded that - the higher wood basic density, the larger are the changes of dimensions. Consequently, based on the results obtained, the possibility of supplementing the recommendations in industry standards regarding wooden floors should be considered.