Weight Loss of Chemically Modified Kelempayan (Neolamarckia cadamba) Wood Particles using Alkaline

Abstract

The weight loss behaviour of Kelempayan (Neolamarckia cadamba) wood particles that have undergone alkaline chemical alteration is examined in this work. Two particle sizes (0.5 mm and 1.0 mm) were treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions at concentrations of 0.5, 1, and 2% for 60 minutes at 30 and 90°C. Particle mass measurements obtained before and after treatment were used to calculate weight reduction. The results showed that the weight loss of the samples was significantly influenced by temperature, NaOH concentration, and particle size (p < 0.05), with smaller particles treated at higher NaOH concentrations experiencing the highest weight losses. Temperature had no significant effect on weight loss, although slightly higher weight loss was observed at 90°C. The particle size and weight loss of the samples showed a strong negative correlation (r = -0.96) according to statistical analysis, indicating that smaller particles are more vulnerable to alkaline degradation because of their larger surface area-to-volume ratio. 0.5 mm particles treated with 2% NaOH at 90°C showed the greatest weight loss (21.00%), whereas 1.0 mm particles treated with 0.5% NaOH at 30°C showed the least weight loss (9.33%). These results emphasise how crucial it is to optimize alkaline treatment conditions to balance minimal material loss with efficient hemicellulose, lignin, and extractive removal. This work establishes distinct correlations between temperature, NaOH concentration, and particle size, offering quantitative insight into the degrading behaviour of Kelempayan under various processing settings. These results provide useful recommendations for enhancing the performance consistency of particleboard and other wood-based composites and for optimising raw material treatment.