THE INFLUENCE OF WATER-SOLUBLE SUBSTANCES ON MOISTURE DISTRIBUTION IN LARCH LUMBER BEFORE DRYING
The initial moisture content of wood is one of the major factors that determines the duration of lumber drying. It is generally accepted that the water content in the tree trunk, regardless of breed, depends on the zone of wood. The maximum amount of water can be found in sapwood, times less - in core wood. Deviation from the generally accepted provisions for the distribution of moisture in larch wood was found when studying the kinetics of lumber drying. Larch wood is 90 % core wood, and in lumber it is up to 100 %. The obtained data indicate the presence of a certain factor that determines the water content in Siberian larch wood. Such a factor is water-soluble substances, the basis of which is arabinogalactan; a polysaccharide with polyelectrolyte properties and capable of retaining a large number of water molecules. The article substantiates the assumption that moisture distribution in the cross section of a larch board before drying is formed by arabinogalactan, which is a part of wood. Arabinogalactan dissolving transfers water from the active phase to the passive one. Therefore, the presence of arabinogalactan at certain points of a log influences the water balance and leads to the formation of sharp boundaries of water distribution in wood. Consequently, it is reasonable to take into consideration the fact of predominant concentration of this group of water-soluble substances in the production of larch wood products. The research purpose is to justify the influence of water-soluble substances on the distribution of free water in larch lumber before drying.