Induced Discoloration of Buerger Maple during Drying Process

Buerger maple (Liquidambar formosana Hance) is a kind of wood that is easily discolored. This paper tries to obtain satisfactory color and a broad prospect in the utilization of buerger maple by induced discoloration. The authors analyze the mechanism of induced discoloration of buerger maple based on the analysis of visual physical parameter, the infrared spectrum (IRS) and the scanning electron microscope (SEM) under different drying conditions. The result shows that it is feasible to induce discoloration during the drying process. The wood color tends to be red and fuscous during inducing discoloration of buerger maple. The induced discoloration mechanism is: 1) the high temperature and humidity accelerates the oxidation reaction of polyphenol, leuco-fancy pigment and tannin, which changes the wood color to red; 2) the hydroxy (―OH) is oxidized and the carbonyl (―C═O), carboxyl (―COOH), ester and ketone groups form during the high temperature steaming, which results in wood piece discoloration.