Combustion Properties of Several Species of Wood

Six species of wood were studied by combined thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) so as to evaluate their combustion properties in terms of the amount of energy released, the initial temperature of ignition, and the cleanness of burning. Pinus monticola, Acer saccharum, Quercus rubra, Diospyrus spp., Tabebuia spp. and Guaiacum spp. were chosen to provide a wide range of hardness values and densities. Quercus rubra burned to the hottest temperature of the samples, and also left the least amount of ash behind. For Guaiacum spp. its burning temperature is in the middle of the peak temperatures for other woods – while its final amount of ash is considerably larger than in the other samples. There is no connection between the wood density and the parameters characterizing the burning process.