Moisture adsorption behaviour of decayed rubber wood

Abstract

Abstract Moisture adsorption behaviour of rubber wood blocks decayed by brown rot and white rot fungi was studied. The adsorption isotherms of decayed wood were compared with the isotherm of undecayed wood. The wood decayed by brown rot adsorbed less moisture as compared to sound or undecayed wood at all humidity levels. No significant difference was observed in adsorption behaviour of white rot decayed and undecayed wood. The adsorption isotherms were analyzed using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) model of water sorption in terms of primary and secondary water corresponding to monolayer and multilayer adsorption respectively. The analysis suggested a reduction in the number of sorptive sites in the rubber wood decayed by brown rot fungi. Adsorption isotherms obtained using BET theory were in close agreement with the experimentally obtained adsorption isotherms.