Fiber characteristics and chemical composition of Delonix regia (Boj. Ex Hook.) Raf. wood

Abstract

Delonix regia, a deciduous wood species with beautifully coloured flowers was analyzed for its fibre characteristics and chemical composition to assess its potential for pulp and paper making. Three twenty-year-old trees of D. regia were felled at a farm in the Ijokodo area, Ibadan. Afterward, 27 wood samples (2 x 2 x 2 mm3) were collected axially (top, middle, and base) and radially (core, middle and outer). Slivers obtained from the samples were macerated in 1:1 volume of glacial acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide and placed in an oven for 2 hrs at 100 oC. Thereafter, a total of twenty whole fibres were selected per samples for the fibre measurement. For the determination of chemical composition, samples were crushed and test carried out according to standard method. The experiment was a 3×3 factorial experiment set up in a completely randomized block design (CRD), and data collected were subjected to statistical analysis. The fibre characteristics measured were fibre length (FL), fibre diameter (FD), and lumen width (LW), while Cell wall thickness (CWT) was determined with relevant equation. The chemical composition parameters determined are Lignin, Cellulose, and Hemicellulose. The mean results obtained in this study were fibre length (1.30 mm), fibre diameter (37.57 μm), lumen width (26.86 μm), and Cell wall thickness (6.62 μm). The chemical compositions of the species were: lignin (18.34) and holocellulose (73%).