A spectrocolorimetric and chemical study on color modification of heat-treated wood during artificial weathering

Effect of artificial weathering on the wood surface color modifications of three North American species (jack pine, aspen, and birch) heat-treated under different temperatures was studied by spectrocolorimetric colormeter (datacolor, CHECK TM). Data was analyzed using the reflectance spectra (400-700 nm) as well as the CIE-L*a*b* system and ΔE. Kubelka-Munk (K-M) spectra of samples were recorded as a function of artificial weathering time to obtain the absorption maxima of the chromophore woods formed during artificial weathering. The results were compared with those of the respective untreated (Kiln-dried) species. Analysis of chemical components shows that the lignin percent of jack pine, aspen, and birch increased after heat treatment (28.66-35.9%, 20.27-26.41%, and 19.04-22.71% respectively) which might be due to smaller influence of heat treatment on lignin content than hemicelluloses. This improves the resistance of heat-treated wood to photo-degradation. This is also supported by the smaller change observed in K-M spectra and total color parameters in CIE-L*a*b* system of heat-treated wood samples compared to those of untreated wood when weathered for72 h. However, the lignin percent of heat-treated woods reduce to maximum 2.5% after artificial weathering of 1512 h. This suggests that the weathering degrades most lignin matrix; consequently, both the colors of heat-treated woods and untreated woods are lighter and very similar after a long period of artificial weathering.

► Investigate the detailed color variation caused by artificial weathering of three heat-treated regional North American species due to artificial weathering with Kubelka-Munk (K-M) spectra and CIE-L*a*b* system. ► Chemical analysis of heat-treated wood main components during weathering. ► Identify the connection between heat-treated wood discolorations and the degradation of wood components.